Erase
by Chloe Silvers
Summary: After Chloe is found siphoning money from Oliver's company in order to purchase Kryptonite weapons, she realizes that the only way to escape from who she is becoming is to erase her memories. Oliver has 4 months to find and stop her before it's too late.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: After Chloe is found siphoning money from Oliver's company in order to purchase Kryptonite weapons, she realizes that she losing her sense of humanity. She decides that the only way to escape from who she is becoming is to erase her memories and start over. Oliver has 4 months to stop her before it's too late. 

Spoilers: Up to Conspiracy, and then I write my own way. 

POV: First chapter is Chloe-centric, and then Ollie-centric for the rest of the journey.

Chapter One

Chloe was tapping away on her laptop. Since Lois was chasing down a lead for the Daily Planet, she decided to work from the apartment today. It was safe- there was no chance for any unwanted interruptions or Lois' questions.

The door suddenly opened, and Oliver walked in. She smiled at the sight of him.

"Just the interruption I was hoping for" she said, temporarily abandoning her work and walking to the door to greet him.

Something seemed off. He silently closed the door behind him and started looking around the apartment. She was about to question him when he pressed a couple of buttons on her laptop and turned up the volume. A loud song started playing.

He walked over to her with a fierce look in his eyes and she leaned close to him. "I like where this is going Romeo, but you might want to put on some softer music", she said, leaning over for a kiss.

"It's not a booty-call."

She stepped back and blinked twice. Something had happened- something so big that changed his perspective of her. And that was scary.

"I think Tess Mercer might be listening. She's up to something that involves you", he explained. She looked at him questioningly. What was Tess up to?

"She came by my office today with evidence that somebody's been siphoning money from my company." She felt her stomach sink- it was about the Kryptonite weapons, and the money. She knew she should have told him, but didn't know how.

"You're stealing from me." He said simply, looking at her with contempt. She looked at him guiltily. It wasn't selfish, what she had done. Plan B, that's all it was. But on paper, her actions looked that way.

"It's not like that." She told him, trying to find some way to make the situation better.

"Right. A lot of women have used me for my money. I never expected it from you." He held hatred in his eyes and bitterness in his words. He had never looked at her like that. Even when Davis had taken him hostage, he looked at her with disappointment.

She remembered what he had said to her that day: _When did you become one of the bad guys, huh?_

She wasn't going to lie to Oliver the way that she had lied to Clark back then. She wasn't one of the bad guys- far from that.

"I wasn't stealing from you, Oliver. I was borrowing the cash and buying insurance for the entire planet", she told him.

She was about to explain everything when the song concluded. She remembered the possibility that Tess had the apartment bugged and reached for a piece of paper and a pen. _Let me show you_, she wrote.

He nodded, and proceeded to follow her. She reached for his hand, but he shoved both hands in his pockets and continued to walk.

They got in her car, and she drove them to the site. It was a long journey to the site, but they travelled in silence. It was dark when they arrived. She parked the car. They walked, and she showed him the Kryptonite weapon container. She opened the doors, and they turned on their flashlights.

Chloe paused outside of the container as Oliver walked in and looked around. There were sealed liquid Kryptonite containers and suitcases everywhere. She watched as he picked up a dagger and shone light on it.

"Kryptonite weapons. This is what you've been spending all of my money on? Something that could kill Clark?" He asked in disbelief

"They're to protect all of us, including Clark- from Zod and all those other Kandorians." She clarified, stepping into the container.

"I don't understand. I thought you were helping set them all up with licenses and passports."

"All the IDs I gave Clark have computer tracking chips on them", she admitted.

He turned around and looked at her as if she were a monster. She didn't think that it was that bad, but maybe it was.

"I want to keep an eye on the visitors from another planet" she said. Was it so wrong to make sure that everything was going according to plan? This was a Kandorian apocalypse that they were staring in the face- they couldn't afford mistakes.

"Well, welcome to 1984- the Sullivan edition." He said wryly, taking another look around.

"Look Ollie, I'm sorry, okay? But I didn't have a choice. Our friend's moral compass has gotten us lost more than once. I'm not okay with just sitting back and trusting Clark again."

And now here she was, alone at Watchtower. Nothing interesting was going on in the city, and for the first time in what felt like a lifetime ago, she had time to reflect. Time to think about her own life.

She wasn't the same person that she used to be. It had been a while since she chased around a lead for a good story and desperately wanted her name on the cover of the Daily Planet.

She used to think that it all didn't matter. That her change in career didn't matter as long as a younger version of her would have been okay with where she was now. That philosophy had worked for years, but tonight was different.

Tonight, her high school self wouldn't have liked her very much. Chloe always prided herself on not worrying about money- she was a woman who would always make her own way.

She saw how it led to the corruption of souls, how Lionel and Lex always manipulated each other over control of a company. It led to the destruction of countless lives and she swore to herself that it would never happen to her.

Now, it was too late for that. She was becoming no worse than Lex. And Oliver had killed him in the name of justice. If she continued in this direction, she was going to lose herself.

She had to get out. Out of the Watchtower and out of Metropolis. Maybe it would better off if she even got out of the country. All she knew was that she had to get far away from this life. Now.

It was time to start her life over. Chloe knew that she was disappointing everyone, but she needed to do this. She needed to start thinking about herself, because there was nobody left to do so for her.

She fished her cell phone out of her bag and dialed a number that she hoped was still in service. A voice finally greeted her.

"Hey, remember that offer you made me a year ago? I'm taking it." She said

She listened to the details and confirmed that she was ready.

She shut down the computers before she thought of saying a proper goodbye. She flipped open her laptop, and started recording some sort of video explanation to Oliver. Somehow, nothing came out right. She ended the video in frustration, and didn't burn it on a CD.

Instead, she dug around for an old CD that she made last year before taking her responsibilities as Watchtower full-time. She was afraid then that she would lose herself in the job.

At the time, she created the CD in case everything went wrong. She was so scared of what she was getting herself into, but at the same time, she knew that she had to find Lois and had to find Oliver. Maybe she should have stopped herself at the very beginning. They were all better off without her.

She dropped the CD on her desk, shut off the lights, and took a cab back to Smallville. She asked the driver to wait for her, and stepped inside of the empty apartment after climbing up the stairs. Lois was on assignment tonight.

Chloe packed the necessary clothing. A part of her wanted to bring more- her high school yearbook, her Torch articles, something memorable. But that wasn't in the plan: bare necessities and nothing else.

She couldn't even pack her own laptop. It had too much information, too many memories. At the same time, she owed it to the team to give them the information that she had. It was why she didn't erase Watchtower's database. She put the laptop in a yellow envelope, and carried it with her on the way out.

She wheeled her suitcase out to the taxi, and the driver put it in the trunk. She asked the driver to stop by the Clock Tower first. She carefully placed the package in Oliver's mailbox in the lobby, and closed it. She walked out of the building.

She stared up at Clock Tower. She wanted so badly to go up to the penthouse and tell him everything. It wouldn't be too difficult- just a couple of steps forward and an elevator ride. He knew about the weapons- he was probably the only person who could understand.

"Miss?"

She turned around and saw the driver. He was waiting at the cab. Everything was already packed, and all of her responsibilities at Watchtower were safe with Oliver. It was now or never.

She smiled at the driver and took a deep breath as she got back into the taxi. Every hero that she knew did solo work at some point. But she was a sidekick, technical support. Watchtower. Maybe it was different for her. She was a database. Maybe what she needed was for her memory to be erased.

"Kansas International Airport."


	2. Chapter 2

Summary: After Chloe is found siphoning money from Oliver's company in order to purchase Kryptonite weapons, she realizes that she losing her sense of humanity. She decides that the only way to escape from who she is becoming is to erase her memories and start over. Oliver has 4 months to stop her before it's too late. 

Spoilers: Up to Conspiracy, and then I write my own way. 

POV: First chapter is Chloe-centric, and then Ollie-centric for the rest of the journey.

Chapter Two

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 1

After a night of decent sleep, Oliver drove over to the Watchtower. He knew that things were still a little strange between him and Chloe, but he hoped that they could change all of that- move past it.

He may have agreed to her agreement of emotionless sex, but he also knew that having sex with someone who knew him better than he knew himself was going to contain emotion. It was going to create some form of attachment. He couldn't help it.

She saved him from himself, plain and simple. And now that she was starting to feel a little lost herself, he was going to return the favor. He opened the double doors, and heard her voice.

"Chloe?" he called out as he walked in and followed the voice

He expected her to stop talking, or for another voice to join in her conversation at some point. But there was nothing. She was just talking. Was she talking to herself?

As he made his way over to the computers, he saw Clark as he watched some sort of video feed. Was she web-chatting with Clark? It wasn't unusual.

"If you found this CD, then that means that I lost control. Oliver, you saw me as I activated that crystal under Brainiac's influence- too much information is dangerous. If you're playing this, and I left it behind in a place where I knew you could find it, then I decided that it was too much."

Oliver kept watching the feed behind Clark. He didn't know what to expect. He had to keep listening.

"I made a plan before I decided to join up full-time. If I lose control of myself, to the degree that I cross some sort of line, then I pack my bags and leave. Get out of Metropolis, maybe even the country. I'll leave to start over and give normalcy a try. You're the leader, Oliver. You guys are all leaders. Me?" he heard her let out a small laugh "I'm the follower. You don't need me."

He crossed his arms. Her words were giving him a slight chill. He didn't need to hear any more. He wished that the feed would just end. The words were screaming in his ears. _Lose. Control. Start. Over. Normalcy. Follower. Don't. Need. Me._

He swallowed a lump in his throat as she continued. What next? "I know that your identities are the most important thing. And if anyone tries to find out your secrets, they can somehow get to me. So I'm not going to pretend that I'll keep everyone's secret until the day I die. But I wish I could. God I wish I could."

She cleared her throat. "I'm getting a surgical operation completed that will…erase my memories. Not completely, but of only one thing. For me, it's not a particular person or place. Just an object: the importance of a newspaper."

His eyes widened. Newspapers connected everything- the meteor infected in Smallville, Clark's identity, Lois' ambitions as a writer. She took care of the press so that they would figure out any identities. She wouldn't have even known about the Green Arrow if it weren't for Lois' story years ago.

She was going to forget about him.

She took a deep breath in the video. "Oliver, you told me that this job would mean leaving my old dreams as a reporter behind. And you were right. If I decided to do it, then maybe leaving any importance of the printed page behind would help me move on in another way as well."

She put a lock of hair behind her ear. "I know that I'm disappointing you. And I'm letting the team down. I'm hoping that I'll never have to use this disk, that one day someone will find it and after a confrontation, I'll laugh about it. But in case you do watch this, I just want to thank you." A tear was rolling down her eye. "Thank-thank you for helping me find some sort of purpose, and for being there on my birthday."

The video ended abruptly.

"Clark, suit up. We're going to find her", he said determinedly.

Clark Kent turned around. "Oliver. Were you here to see the whole video?"

"You tell me. I heard her say that if anyone found the video, then it meant that she lost control."

Clark nodded. "Yeah, that's the whole thing."

Oliver was confident that they were going to find her. With Clark's help, they could move a lot faster than if he was alone. Clark could cover way more ground- together, they could bring Watchtower home by the end of the week at the latest.

"Okay, I'll grab my extra set of gear, while you suit up. And then we can find her." He turned around, his eyes wandering around the building.

"Why?" Clark asked, interrupting his thoughts

He turned around. "What do you mean, why? Chloe's missing, and we have to find her."

"No", Clark shook his head. "Chloe left. There's a difference."

"What difference is there?"

"She chose to leave. It's not the first time that she's done it. And last time, you told me that she was long gone, and if anyone could make herself invisible, it was her."

"I'm not the same person that I was back then. And as I recall, you were the one who said that you weren't going to stop looking for her. Why are you fighting me on this?" he asked

"Because I'm glad that she left."

"You wanted her to leave?" he asked slowly

"Oliver, she was cooped up in here. The two of us", he said gesturing between the two men, "we have lives outside of the hero business. You have your company and I have the Daily Planet. Chloe didn't have that."

"If you're saying that Chloe didn't have a life, or people around her, then don't. You may have not been around, but I've been here every day. And she has always had the team."

"Then, don't you think that Chloe deserves the opportunity to be free from all of this? From this life?"

"Just because _you_ have a destiny Clark, does not mean that the rest of us are _stuck_ here. You may be bulletproof, but I suit up every night for patrol knowing what I'm putting at risk. I'm not unstoppable like you are, Clark. But I still go out and make a difference because I want to. And Chloe's the same way."

"Obviously not, if she decided to leave. She wants a chance at a normal life, and we'd be criminals for not giving it to her."

"She's not thinking straight! She left on a whim last time during Doomsday, what makes you think that she's thinking this through now?"

"She had a reason for leaving before. She knew that she was wrong to keep Davis in the basement, and she didn't want to deal with the consequences."

"She left for you! She left to protect you! And now, she's leaving to protect all of us!"

"And how is that wrong?" Clark asked

"Because she's going to hurt herself again in an attempt to protect all of us! She may be a little lost in her work right now, but do you honestly think that isolating herself from everything that she knows is going to make it better?"

"She won't be isolating herself. She'll be erasing her memory. Starting fresh."

"She will be losing her identity!" Oliver exclaimed "Erasing every single thing that she knows! Imagine if you had your memory erased, Clark. And you walked around without even knowing that you were a Kryptonian? How would that feel?"

"If I had no powers and no memory, then it would feel like freedom." Clark told him "Free from responsibilities, and free from having the world's burdens on my shoulders."

"No, you would be lost. You would feel as if you had some sort of purpose that you couldn't find."

"Not me." Clark said in a calm tone

"You owe this to her. She's been there for you for 10 years, and you're not going to even try to find her?"

"She's been there for 10 years. I owe her peace."

"Fine, give her peace. How are you going to explain this to Lois?"

He watched Clark look down at the floor. "Lois is better off not knowing."

Oliver looked at Clark incredulously. First he wasn't going to find Chloe, and now he wasn't even going to tell the only family that she had left what happened? "Lois deserves to know."

"I'm not telling her, Oliver. I have my own responsibilities to deal with."

Clark sped away before he could get in another word. Clark could go ahead and deal with the responsibilities that would be easy to deal with, regardless of the obligations that he had towards his friends.

That didn't mean that Oliver was going to follow in the same direction. He was sat down at Chloe's desk and saw himself surrounded by all of her computers. The answers were here, he knew it. All he had to do now was find them.


	3. Chapter 3

Summary: After Chloe is found siphoning money from Oliver's company in order to purchase Kryptonite weapons, she realizes that she losing her sense of humanity. She decides that the only way to escape from who she is becoming is to erase her memories and start over. Oliver has 4 months to stop her before it's too late.

Spoilers: Up to Conspiracy, and then I write my own way.

POV: First chapter is Chloe-centric, and then Ollie-centric for the rest of the journey.

Chapter Three

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 3

It had been difficult for Oliver to find any rest at night these days; he couldn't sleep while Chloe was still out there. He knew that this whole thing was his fault, that his angry words pushed her away. It was the guilt that prevented him from getting a full night's sleep.

Or maybe it was the fact that he hadn't been to the Clock Tower since he watched that video feed. He just sat at Chloe's desk and watched it. When his eyes felt tired, he just went upstairs and tried to get some shuteye.

He must have watched that video fifty million times, because he knew the entire thing by heart. Her picture flashed in his mind whenever he closed his eyes for a long period of time. He knew when and where it was taken- she made the plan to leave a year ago in the old Isis Foundation building. That was the first place on his list to check out. Well, it was the only thing on his list right now. He had to start somewhere.

But before he did anything else, he needed to visit Lois. Clark didn't think that she could handle the truth, but he knew that what Lois really couldn't handle was not knowing. Thinking that her cousin was kidnapped or dead was not something that should be on her mind. Although in reality, knowing that Chloe just up and left wasn't going to do any real good either. But at least Lois would know that she was safe.

He climbed the familiar stair-case reluctantly. It felt a lot longer than it was in reality, but Oliver finally reached the top, and knocked on the apartment door.

He waited until the door opened, and Lois greeted him. "Oliver! What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you about something. Can I come in?"

She opened the door fully, and he walked inside. The apartment was left mostly unchanged. Why didn't Chloe bring anything with her?

"It's about Chloe."

"Have you spoken to her recently? She hasn't been home in a couple of days. She's probably just busy with work, but still."

"Maybe you should sit down", he said, motioning towards a nearby couch.

"That never sounds good." Lois reluctantly sat down.

He sat down next to her. "Uh, Lois, there's no easy way for me to say this, but…"

"Oliver, spit it out already."

"Chloe left." He said quickly

"Excuse me?"

He stood up, and started walking around the apartment as he studied Chloe's belongings. Pictures, letters, articles, why were they here? There was even a photocopy of her first check from the Daily Planet. She liked building up memories for herself, so why didn't she take them with her?

"Lois, you know that Chloe's been through a lot. The meteor infected, and all of the people that she lost on the way. She got really caught up in her work, and decided to leave everything behind."

"Where did she go?"

"I don't know."

"So she went on a little vacation. Good for her! I'm proud of her, even. When is she going to be back?"

"No, Lois you don't understand. She decided to start her life over. She literally decided to leave everything behind and start over."

"No, Oliver, you don't understand. Chloe's my cousin, and she's my favorite person in the world. And I'm telling you that this isn't her. Chloe doesn't just get up and leave. When things go wrong, she sticks around and fights. She does not just give up."

"What if something was changing in herself and she felt for a moment that the only way to fix it was to leave her past behind?"

"Then she'd think it through, or sleep on it! She's a list maker- she would weigh the pros and cons."

"Maybe she decided to do things differently, out of her element maybe. But the truth is that she's gone. And I didn't want to know the truth and just lie to you. You deserve to know."

Lois stood up and walked over to the other side of the apartment. Oliver followed her.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to call the Blur. He'll find her." She said as she found her cell phone

His eyes widened. Clark would not be happy if he found out that Lois was told the truth.

Oliver took the phone out of her hand. "Lois, listen to me. The Blur isn't going to help."

"What do you mean, the Blur isn't going to help? He's the Blur, it's what he does."

"I spoke with him about the matter. He believes that if Chloe wants to start her life over, then her friends and family owe her the right to make her own decision."

Great, so much for not lying to Lois. But that was the truth, mostly.

"You talked to the Blur?" Lois asked

"As the Green Arrow, yes."

"So you've seen his face?" she asked excitedly

Yes. And I know exactly who it is. But I can't tell you that.

"Not exactly. I've spoken to him face to face, but he's always in the dark."

She nodded. "He's very secretive."

"I may be an ordinary guy, and I may not have the speed that the Blur has, but I'm going to find Chloe."

Lois started staring at him. "You know, you've been incredibly inconsistent about your hero work recently. I came to you months ago, and you flat out told me that you were over it. But for some reason, I believe you. I'm coming with you."

She couldn't come along. If she came along, then that would mean that she would have to be told about the League, Watchtower, the Blur's true identity, and countless other secrets that she wasn't supposed to know about.

"No, Lois."

"She's my cousin, Oliver. I'm joining you."

God, why couldn't Clark have this much initiative? And why couldn't Lois be the one willing to let Chloe go? It would be a lot easier, but Oliver had the feeling that easy was one thing that this mission wasn't going to be.

"Lois, you have responsibilities here. I'm going to find her, I promise. I'll search the entire world if I have to. You just got started in your career- you can't afford to have your name suddenly disappear from the papers."

"My career doesn't matter. She's family, and she comes first."

He had to think quickly. She would do anything to help Clark. "What if the Blur needs you? You're the only person that he confides in. You have to stay here."

She was silent for a moment. "Good point." She said in defeat. "Is there anything that I can do to help?"

He looked around at Chloe's things. There might be some sort of clue here, something that she left behind.

"Take it."

"Are you sure?" Oliver asked

"Yeah, take all of it. Take what you can now and I'll send you the rest. I'll be constantly reminded of her, and I just- I can't keep falling apart every time I walk in here."

"She's not dead", he reminded her. "She's alive and safe. She just lives somewhere else right now."

"I know. And don't you dare think that you can just get my hopes up and not deliver on your end. You bring my cousin back home, you hear?" she asked as she jabbed him sharply

"I'll bring her back home."

He looked around and grabbed a couple of filled 3 inch binders labeled Articles. He saw an uncompleted Rubix cube on a desk and took that as well. He saw the photocopy of her first Daily Planet check, and slipped it into one of the binders.

"You'll send me the rest?" he asked as he rested his chin on top of the pile

She nodded. "Keep in touch, okay?"

"I will."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 6

Oliver knew that it was in his best interest to return to the penthouse, if only to get a good night's sleep, but he couldn't. He remained at Chloe's desk in the Watchtower, reading.

He read article after article, only getting up for another cup of coffee. Whenever a fresh pot of coffee was ready, he developed the habit of closing his eyes and inhaling the scent. It made the Watchtower feel…proper again, almost as if Chloe had just been there.

The coffee fueled him as he continued to read as day turned into night, which turned into day again. He wasn't bored of the articles, far from that. There was a story about a kid with telekinesis and a story about a football coach who started fires.

There was an article about toxic flowers that allowed someone to release their inhibitions, and an article about a student who could control bees. There was even a woman who could see the future- any ability that could be imagined, Chloe had seen it all. It was no wonder that she was able to figure out his secret so quickly.

As each story became more interesting, Chloe became more intriguing to Oliver. He was starting to understand why Clark chose to leave her alone- this past truly had the ability to drive a person insane.

Oliver always believed that his own life was unique- orphaned at a young age, a bully at prep school, stranded on an island for two years, and a member of a brotherhood of hunters before deciding to run his father's company during the day and protecting the city at night.

When he met Clark, he figured that even though he didn't have abilities, his life was still the weirdest out of every human that he knew. But here he was, three days after visiting Lois, and he was clearly trumped.

For the first time in his life, Oliver was thankful for his past. He had a feeling that if he had gone through Chloe's, he wouldn't have come out of it as good as she did. Yes, she was lost right now, but it all could have been a lot worse.

She was a mystery to him, but he did know one thing- that she couldn't be alone right now. He knew from experience that being left alone during a low point is the worst thing that a person can do.

If he could go back in time, he would stop himself from walking out on everything after Jimmy's funeral so that she would continue to smile and trust people like she did in the pictures he found in every Letter from the Editor entry of The Torch.

As he finished flipping through the last binder, he wanted to know more. He wanted to know every single thing that there was to know about Chloe Sullivan. He wanted to find her and bring her back. He wanted to return the light that was once in her eyes.

But he needed more information. None of these people could erase memories, and that was what he was looking for. And that knowledge was probably in the Isis Foundation.

Oliver unlocked the door to the old Isis Foundation headquarters and stepped inside. Since Chloe moved almost all of her business to the Watchtower, the place was empty in comparison. There were a couple of cabinets and scattered around the place, and dozens of chairs in a room creating a circle.

It looked like she still used it for her meetings with clients, which made sense. It would be complicated to bring them all to the Watchtower.

He walked over to her desk first, which was off in a corner. He sat down in her chair and pulled open a couple of drawers and saw that they were empty. He tried to pull open another drawer, but found that it was locked.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his lock-pick, and then he hesitated. This could be something private, something that Chloe didn't want anybody to know. She would kill him for snooping around her desk if she found out.

But then again, Chloe was gone because an argument that they had regarding the secrets that she kept. Not to mention the fact that he had become so interested in her that he almost needed to know what was inside. And that he promised Lois that he would do whatever was necessary in order to bring her back home.

He stared at the floor as he realized something- Lois had nothing to lose, not really. The two of them were cousins: they were close before Chloe became involved in exposing the meteor-infected and keeping heroes safe.

If she got her memory erased, she wouldn't forget Lois. Maybe she would forget that Lois worked for the Daily Planet and about the Blur, but after a while, Chloe would be filled in, and just admire the Blur's work without her reporter's curiosity.

He realized now that he wasn't doing any of this for Lois, not really. For some reason, he couldn't let this go like Clark could. Oliver wanted to look for Chloe for himself, so that she wouldn't forget about him. And that part of him couldn't let any stone go unturned.

He grasped his lock-pick tightly and started to pick the lock slowly in excitement. There was a possibility that Chloe hid her location here- he could fly there and bring her back. He would be able to help her.

He opened the drawer, and found nothing. He let out a groan as his face fell. What was even the point of locking the drawer if nothing was here?

But on the other hand, of course it was locked- everything had to be secure in the Isis Foundation. The drawers in the cabinets were probably locked too. Chloe made sure that the Foundation maintained a policy of anonymity.

It took time, but Oliver managed to pick the lock of every drawer in the place. The cabinets were filled with files of meteor infected people and meta-humans. He found a box of garbage bags and began to dump the files inside of them until the bags looked about ready to rip.

Oliver cleaned the place out and carried the bags back to his car. He drove back to the Watchtower. There was a chance that one of these kids had the ability to selectively erase memories. If he could find that person, then their location would be in the file and he could find Chloe.

He started reading on the floor with the files all around him. He read about people who could control the weather, fire, minds, temperature, and their own forms. There were clients who could grow plants, clients who could increase the pressure of a substance until it exploded- there were so many different abilities that he sometimes lost the idea of what he was looking for in the first place.

This was completely different than the Torch stories about meteor-infected people who inevitably lost control and were shipped off to Belle Reve. Some of the most powerful people were inconsistent in attending their sessions, even disappearing for weeks at a time.

These people didn't have the usual unhappy ending- in fact their stories were still being written. Oliver realized that tracking down some of these people could be incredibly dangerous. He was going to have to start training again in order to stand a chance in a fight. Giving up was simply not an option. Not now.

The worst part about all of this was that he read for hours on end, and didn't even make a dent on the files that surrounded him. Oliver realized that this wasn't going to be as simple as he originally thought.

It was going to take much longer than a week to find her. And he couldn't just skim the files in order to speed along the process- he could miss something important.

He ignored hunger when it came, but sleep wasn't so easy. He rubbed and blinked his eyes aimlessly.

He knew that it would be more efficient to just grab a glass of water, but he couldn't leave his spot because Chloe needed him right now.

He didn't even know if it was too late- her mind could be blank already, and if that was the case, what was the point of doing all of this? What was the point of wasting time in talking to grabbing all of her things and arguing with Clark in the first place if she had already forgotten everything?

He continued to read, regardless of his frustration and regardless of his feet falling asleep on him. He was human, and although he ignored hunger and thirst, it was sleep that attacked him. Oliver Queen fell asleep on the floor surrounded by files.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: So yesterday, I sat down and planned the entirety of this fic. I thought it was going to be a really quick 3 chapter project, but my mind doesn't want to listen to me. This story is going to be long and hopefully interesting as well, which is why you're going to have to be patient with me. I have a feeling that you guys are going to be as frustrated as Oliver in time.

Queen and Survival fans: I have never given up on a project in my entire life, and I don't plan on starting. Survival fans- it takes me a while to get out 3,000-10,000 word chapters. And with these other projects that I've started, I have been a little sidetracked. But you will get an update soon. Queen fans- I promise that you'll get the last little drop of the story in time. Just enjoy this story, and the last installment will be out before you know it.

Chapter Five

Oliver watched as she entered the Talon and immediately spotted Jimmy's body. She spoke to Emil and Jimmy. She reached out to give his arm a quick squeeze and watched as Jimmy was wheeled off.

Oliver was internally shaking with rage, but tried his best to stay calm as he walked over to her. "You know Chloe, I thought about calling the police. Instead, I thought I'd give you a chance to explain yourself before I let them haul you off to prison for harboring a serial killer."

"I shouldn't have left Davis here alone." She turned around to face him. "This never would have happened if I was here. This is all my fault."

He could not believe that she didn't see that her actions were wrong. What happened to her? "When did you become one of the bad guys, huh?"

He heard the sounds of the ambulance before it drove away. "For whatever reason, I calm the beast inside him. He needed me."

"He needed you", he repeated. "So the needs of the corn field killer outweigh the needs of the world, is that it?"

"Oliver, it's complicated", she said brushing him off.

Davis almost killed him tonight- she owed him an explanation, no matter how complicated it was.

He stopped her before she could walk past him. "It's complicated. Yeah, that's the same thing that your psychopathic boyfriend told me."

"Look, either I keep him with me or I let innocent people die!"

He knew Chloe. That wasn't it. She wouldn't keep a serial killer in the basement of a coffee shop, where innocent employees could walk in without realizing it. And if she did, she wouldn't be so caring.

He remembered the way she looked at him when she found out that he killed Lex. And that was one person. Lex was guilty of destroying lives, but she still considered murder a heinous act. Davis was a Kryptonian beast who killed innocent people, and she knew this. How could Chloe be so…loving towards him?

"Chloe if you really believed that, you would have handled things a little differently, don't you think? Instead, what do you do? You cook him dinner, you fluff his pillow, you rock him to sleep!"

"Okay, look. I understand what it looked like from the outside, but trust me- I had the whole thing under control!" She pushed past him, her eyes shining with tears.

He turned around to follow her. "Chloe, you didn't have anything under control. Speaking as Davis' next victim, I can tell you. Your plan was seriously flawed!"

She was silent. He continued. "How did you think this was going to end, Chloe?"

"I'll find him, okay? I'll fix this."

"No, you won't. I think you've done enough."

***Flash***

"If I lose control of myself, to the degree of crossing some sort of line, then I pack my bags and leave."

***Flash***

"You guys are all leaders."

***Flash***

"I'm the follower. You don't need me."

***Flash***

"I'm not going to pretend that I'll keep everyone's secret until the day I die. But I wish I could. God, I wish I could."

***Flash***

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 8

Oliver sprang up from the desk at Watchtower. He had fallen asleep on the job again. These dreams were getting out of control- he couldn't help but blame himself for Chloe's disappearance.

Even when Davis kept him hostage, Oliver gave her a moment to explain herself, however ludicrous said explanation was. And when he found out that she had taken money from his company, he went straight to the accusation.

What was the matter with him? Why did that sense of betrayal consume him like that? Where did it come from? He still couldn't understand it.

He looked at the computer screen in front of him. He fell asleep on the keyboard this time.

It took him a long time, but he finally read every single file from the Isis Foundation. And he was left completely dry. There were so many different abilities out there that she had found, but a client who could perform any kind of memory erasure was not one of them.

He was at a dead end. There was nowhere to turn, nothing to read. He instantly picked up one of the binders containing newspaper articles and flipped through it quickly. He went through the stories in his head, and when he came to the end, he closed the binder roughly.

A little piece of paper flew out of the binder and fell on the floor. He looked at it for a moment and walked over to it. He bent down and picked it up.

It was her first check from the Daily Planet. He studied the bottom of the check for a moment. He had seen millions of checks throughout his career, and this one was wrong. The numbers were spaced strangely, completely unlike ordinary checks.

He reached into his pocket for his own check book, and compared the sets of numbers. His checks had a different spacing of numbers than this one did. He looked at one of the central computers which he fell asleep on. There were multiple numbers on the search engine.

The check had some sort of code.

Oliver couldn't recognize any pattern in the numbers, but Chloe made a program ages ago that could decode any code. He opened the program, and typed in the numbers. 112 101 97 114 108 115 116 109 97

He couldn't specify what algorithm he was trying to decode, so he selected all. A message popped up. Estimated time: 2 hours.

His eyes widened. 2 hours? The Watchtower had the fastest technology in the city- how many codes and algorithms were there?

He decided to call Lois. Maybe he could stop by later to pick up more of Chloe's things. He couldn't depend on this alone to give a clue.

She picked up. _"Lois Lane."_

"Lois, it's Oliver. I was wondering if I could come by the Talon later to pick up more of Chloe's things."

"_I shipped most of her things a couple of days ago. Didn't you get them?"_

He looked around the Watchtower. It hadn't gotten any packages recently. "Where did you ship them?"

"_To your penthouse. Where else would I ship them?"_

Of course. Lois didn't know about the Watchtower. He wasn't thinking straight.

"No, I'm sure they got there. I haven't been there in a while. I've been looking for Chloe."

"_And?"_

"Nothing yet. But I promise you that I've been doing nothing but look for her."

"_I can tell. You sound exhausted. Are you okay?"_

Of course he wasn't. He accused Chloe of being just like Clark a year ago when she kept Davis in the basement- not able to do what was necessary in order to fix a problem. And now, she had gone in an attempt to fix her problems without talking to anyone about it.

"I'm just tired, that's all."

"_Well, everything's at the penthouse. Go home and get some sleep. Maybe you'll find something then."_

Home? The penthouse wasn't his home. Not anymore.

"Okay, thanks. I'll be in touch."

He hung up quickly. He had a little less than 2 hours to see get to the penthouse and take a look at what was sent.

He drove over to the Clock Tower, and pulled open his mailbox. There were a couple of letters and a package. He stepped into the empty elevator and opened the package.

It was Chloe's laptop. What was it doing here? This thing probably had a lot of information on it concerning the team. Why did Lois send it? How much did she know?

The elevator doors opened, and he stepped out. He rested the laptop on a side table, and reached out for his cell phone, and called Lois.

"_Lois Lane."_

"Hey, it's me. Did you send me Chloe's laptop?"

"_Her laptop? No, I didn't. It wasn't around the apartment. I thought that she brought it with her, she's attached to the thing."_

"Okay, thanks", he mumbled before hanging up.

He checked the yellow envelope that the package was in. It was addressed to him, and it was in Chloe's handwriting.

He opened the laptop, and a message popped up on the screen. Video saved.

Video? What video? He found the file, and pressed play.


	6. Chapter 6

Summary: After Chloe is found siphoning money from Oliver's company in order to purchase Kryptonite weapons, she realizes that she losing her sense of humanity. She decides that the only way to escape from who she is becoming is to erase her memories and start over. Oliver has 4 months to stop her before it's too late. 

Spoilers: Up to Conspiracy, and then I write my own way. 

POV: First chapter is Chloe-centric, and then Ollie-centric for the rest of the journey.

Chapter Six

A window opened, and the video started. Chloe's face popped up on the screen. She was wearing a green leather jacket and her hair was curled. God, she always looked beautiful in green.

"Oliver, I'm not exactly sure how to say this, so I guess I'll just come out with it." She took a deep breath. "I'm leaving. I'm getting out of Metropolis to start everything over again. I'm sorry about everything- about the money and the Kryptonite weapons."

He waited for something more, something about this video that was different from the other one. Some sort of clue that would tell him where she was going.

"Please don't blame yourself for all of this. I'm not leaving because of anything that you…said or did. It's just that…" she stopped for a moment.

So she didn't leave because he accused her of being another woman who was manipulating her for his money or for calling her a booty-call? Doubtful.

"I didn't know that I was doing anything wrong. I thought that as Watchtower, it was my job to protect the human race. For a backup plan to be in motion in case Clark fails and the Kryptonian are killed. Maybe I have trust issues, but I didn't want to put all of our eggs in one basket."

She was right- the weapons were the best option. He just wanted her to ask before taking money from his account. That was all. It was the principle of the matter.

"If the future that Clark saw actually does happen, I wanted to be prepared. And since it was a responsibility that I had as Watchtower, I didn't think that I needed to ask for the money. In the end, you're a person. And just because I have the ability to gain access to any bank account in the world, it doesn't mean that I should. I mean, I can take money from a random person in Italy, but I won't. Why should you be any different?"

He decided to check out the Italian news later. Maybe there was a reason that she chose that particular country.

"Anyway, I'm rambling. I have a friend of a friend who can erase a particular memory. If I start a new life for myself, there's always going to be someone tracking me down to get information on the team. So I'm going to go through with the process so that I can start over without risking the identity of the team. I want to make sure that you guys are protected."

This part always made him a little bit angry, because if he hadn't introduced her to the team in the first place, she wouldn't need to erase her memory.

"It's 100% permanent, which is why they won't do it without me thinking it through first. I wanted to have it done right away, but I was told that I needed to wait. They wanted me to wait 6 months, but I was able to persuade them to do it after 4. They just won't let me bring any of my things with me. Everything that I know is in Watchtower's database. And I'll drop off my laptop just in case I missed something."

Not being able to bring anything but the bare necessities with her would explain why her apartment wasn't emptied out.

He took a deep breath. So she hadn't had her memory erased yet. And he had almost four months to find her. He could search the entire world in that time.

And if she was starting over a permanent life, then she wasn't going to move from place to place. She would stay put.

He could finally get a full night's sleep tonight, and not worry that while he was passed out on the desk, Chloe would be getting her memory erased. This was doable. He could do this.

"Maybe it'll be good for me to start over, or maybe it'll be a complete disaster. I don't know."

She was trying to sound positive, but the tears were flowing freely. She was crying a lot more than she did in the other video.

It looked like leaving was harder than she originally intended.

"I've worked at the Watchtower to give myself a role in your lives, but there's no real reason for it. There's…no room for me in Metropolis anymore. Clark doesn't need me to help him save the day anymore. He makes his own decisions, and I'm proud of him for doing it. Lois doesn't need my help on a big story anymore. And you…" her voice broke.

She inhaled sharply and wiped away her tears. "I know that you think I saved you, but the hero is inside of you. You would have pulled yourself out of your downward spiral in time. I'm sure of it. And even if you did need me, you don't anymore."

Right, because borderline suicidal people living off of alcohol can put their lives back together easily.

"As far as the team is concerned, Victor is better at everything that I can do. He can hack into places faster, he is trained physically. There isn't a single computer that he can't crack, and he can do it all on-site. I have complete confidence in him, and I'm confident that you can lead them. You did it before I hopped on board just fine."

Victor may have the abilities, but Chloe had the calm in high pressure situations. And that was hard to come by. She was irreplaceable.

Just watching this was draining Oliver of whatever energy he had. He had been fighting off sleep ever since he found out that he had almost four months. His body was beginning to take over.

"Clark's so unpredictable these days with his emotions. I'm not sure how he's going to react to all of this when he finds out. I know that you guys don't agree sometimes. Take care of each other, no matter what he does."

He still didn't know what to do about Clark and the Kandorians. It was best for both of them if Oliver just watched as this whole thing played out.

If Chloe had her memory erased, and the Kandorians took over, she would be vulnerable. If she had her memory intact, they would fight together. But if she didn't know what was going on, he would lose her. Finding her was more important than offering Clark help that he wasn't going to take.

The whole idea of creating Kryptonite weapons was to stop blindly trusting and following Clark in such important times. And when Oliver agreed to keep it a secret for the time being, he agreed to stop following Clark blindly as well.

"I'm going to go, before I talk myself out of this."

He really wished that she did talk herself out of everything. More than anything, he wished that he was around when she dropped off the computer. He could have stopped her from leaving.

She wiped her tears again, and smiled. "Goodbye."

The video ended.

There were so many thoughts and emotions swimming in his head right now. He was angry with Chloe, for thinking that he could run the team without her. She had been working with the team on and off for the last 3 years. She was always there for the big things that were going on, regardless of where the team was.

He was mad at himself. He always thought that he showed his appreciation for her whenever she did some digging and came up with something amazing. How could he make her think that there was no room in Metropolis for her? If anything, there was no room for him- Star City was supposed to be his home.

Four months. That was all his body could comprehend. Oliver started to feel dizzy. There was no reason to freak out about everything that he just saw- he had four months to make sense of it all and find her.

He barely made it to his bed in time before his body collapsed.

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 9

Oliver woke up to an incessant beeping noise coming from his pocket. He knew that it was some sort of notification, but he was so exhausted that he couldn't even open his eyes. He felt around for the off button. He turned off his phone, and put it on his nightstand.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"What aren't you telling me, huh?" he asked, searching her eyes for an answer

***Flash***

"If anyone can make themselves invisible, it's Chloe", he told Clark. Why was he trying to track her down, when he should be focusing on Doomsday? Why was Clark wasting his time?

***Flash***

"Chloe, you're bleeding", he told her, as blood fell from her nose. First, she has a weird blue crystal that she decided to wirelessly hack into after convincing him to steal a generator from Tess Mercer, and now this? What was happening to her?

***Flash***

"Chloe! No!" he shouted, as he put down his bow. But it was too late- she had grabbed the black kryptonite from Bart's backpack and struck Davis with it. And now, man and beast were separated.

***Flash***

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 11

Oliver shot up from his bed, breathing heavily and coated in his own sweat. He glanced at the alarm clock on his nightstand and let out a groan when he checked the date. He had been drifting in and out of sleep for three days. Three whole days wasted.

He got out of bed and headed straight for the shower. Three days of sleep- this was actually good. Now that he was fully rested, it meant that he could spend the next two days chasing down straight leads. It was efficient, and he would get that much closer to finding her.

A part of him knew that it was wrong to have such a one-track mind like this. He found himself distracted when it came to looking at his company's reports and files. Even patrols these days felt like an obligation to the city without her voice in his ear.

None of that truly mattered to him. He had to find her- things would go back to normal once he did. Once she came home.

He was getting dressed when he vaguely remembered turning his phone off. He ignored some sort of notification- Watchtower's code decoder had probably finished! He quickly made his way over to his phone, and turned it on. He tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the screen to load.

"PEARLSTMA", it read. What the hell did that mean? He walked over to Chloe's laptop and flipped it open. He typed the letters into the search engine. It was a location. Pearl Street, Massachusetts.

This was good. Feeling excited at the prospect of finding her, he grabbed his keys from the table and pressed the down button on the elevator. He ignored the scattered boxes around the Penthouse that Lois had sent him- if Chloe was in Massachusetts, he would find her. And that was all he needed.

He broke the speed limit and made it to the Watchtower in less than 15 minutes. He pushed open the double doors, and tried to control his excitement as he typed Pearl Street, Massachusetts into Watchtower's database.

He waited until a voice echoed throughout the room. "275 results found."

Oliver's face fell. 275 results? There wasn't just one? Chloe was always able to search through the database and find one definitive result- one way that always worked. It looked like the Watchtower wasn't as easily accessible to other people. But then again, she was Watchtower, is Watchtower. Simply irreplaceable.

He needed to see what he could make of the 275 results. He scrolled down the list and checked it out. Each result was legitimate- there were 275 Pearl Streets in the state of Massachusetts. He would never be able to find her if he travelled there. He had four months to find her, not four months to waste. He couldn't spend the entire time chasing down one lead, especially if it would end up a dead end.

But what if he didn't have to actually go to Massachusetts to check out each result? Each area had security cameras, traffic cameras throughout the street. All he had to do was access them, and he would be able to see the feeds.

In the end, a video is only a set of flash pictures taken very rapidly. He could record his own traffic feed tapes, and separate each second of time into images. And since he had no idea if Chloe had changed her appearance or not, he had no idea who he was looking for. But that didn't matter- if he just captured the image of every woman on the feeds, he could put it through the database until he found individual identities. If he found an alias that resembled Chloe Sullivan, then he would be able to track her down.

He used one of her programs to capture the video feeds for every Pearl Street, and kept the program open for a week as it recorded the feeds from one monitor. On another monitor, he was pulling up identities of random people. Most of the names repeated themselves, the street regulars, but he performed background checks on them all nevertheless.

The minutes passed slowly as he searched through person after person. He thought of the video that he found on Chloe's laptop. Every time he felt the slightest bit tired or bored, he saw the image of her crying in his mind. It kept him going, and pushed him harder. Every time he closed his eyes for a moment, the image would flash in front of him.

She was always the strong one. She tried to keep her thoughts and concerns hidden from the world, and was concentrated on the greater good. She was always selfless, and always came through when nobody else did. He remembered time after time during missions that were going wrong- 33.1 facilities with a little too much security, when even he felt scared. The voice in his ear was always calm and confident.

She never lost control. Other than Jimmy Olsen's funeral, he had never seen her cry before. But that video had more than just one tear. She had completely broken down in front of the camera, in front of him. It tore him apart, knowing that he wasn't there when she needed him the most.

She was always there for him- when he was drinking himself to death, she pulled him out.

He could hear her voice right now. "Even with your face in the gutter, you still had the hero in your heart."

Did he? Even if he found her today, he had no idea what to say. He didn't know how to convince her to come back to Metropolis.

But he still had to try, and if she believed in the hero in him at one point, then it had to stay alive and strong for her. He kept looking through the files as the number grew by the second. He kept going.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 23

Oliver was exhausted, but was almost finished with running background checks in Massachusetts. There were only 6 people left.

He pressed a button, and a picture popped up on the screen. No, Chloe had a different nose.

He pressed the button again. No, Chloe had different ears.

Again. Chloe had a different mouth.

Again. She had different eyes.

Again. The walk was different.

He pressed the button a final time, desperately hoping for the answer. This was going to be the one.

No, Chloe had a different chin. And her eyes were green. Always green.

There were no more answers. Another dead end. He yanked the keyboard out of the computer, and threw it on the desk again and again. 

"Damn it!" He shouted with each consecutive strike

The keyboard smacked on the desk, the sound echoing throughout the room. He couldn't stop. Couldn't stop hitting the keyboard on the desk, sacrificing it. One strike for every person he investigated. Every dry lead, every disappointment. Five hundred and sixty strikes, a part of the keyboard snapping off with every strike.

When the keyboard had broken in several pieces, he took the small remaining piece in his hand and threw it at the wall. That was when he sat down at Chloe's desk, and cradled his head in his hands.

He could hear her words echoing in his mind, even though she said them years ago. _"We trust each other. Clark tells me everything."_

Why couldn't she trust Clark anymore? And if not Clark, why was Oliver left out of the loop?

He remembered the second video._ "Clark is so unpredictable these days with his emotions. I'm not sure how he's going to react to all of this when he finds out."_

Was he as unpredictable as Clark? Is that why he was left in the dark? He was thankful for her saving his life one day, and then trying to get Lois back another. And then a couple of weeks later, he was sleeping with Chloe. On paper, it all seemed to progress very quickly.

He didn't even know what Clark was up to these days. He didn't really want to know, not since Clark gave up on Chloe. She never gave up on anyone. Oliver was at one point, drunk and suicidal, and she still didn't give up on him.

"_I trust you Oliver. Just…not that much."_

He never earned her full trust, did he? And if he didn't find her, he never would.

He stared at the floor. There were black pieces of keyboard all over the floor. He was going to have to replace it later. The letter I was next to his right foot. He bent down and picked it up.

I. _"I can take money from a random person in Italy, but I won't. Why should you be any different?"_

Italy. In the first video, she mentioned getting out of the country. In the second video, she brought up Italy.

It was an idiotic move to look for her in Massachusetts. She was out there somewhere overseas. He checked his phone. It was 11 o'clock at night. He shook his head slightly. It would be rude to call his pilot right this minute. But he could take care of some business at home first.

Oliver stood on the roof of the Watchtower in his Green Arrow costume, when he heard steps behind him. He smiled to himself. "Thanks for meeting me."

He turned around and saw Mia Dearden dressed in a red and black leather suit. Her hood was up, sunglasses on, and was armed with her own bow.

He pulled back his hood and took off his sunglasses with one hand, and switched off the voice distorter with the other. She followed suit.

"I haven't heard from you in a while. I've been worried." She replied

"I'll be okay. The suit looks good." He motioned to her outfit

She smiled. "Your guy did a good job." She gave him a serious look. "What's been going on, Oliver?"

He looked down at the city. "There are thousands of people down there every day, living their normal lives. We work so hard as heroes to try and save every one of them when they're in trouble."

She stepped forward until she stood next to him and looked down.

"What if you have to choose between saving one person or another?" she asked

He shook his head. "I don't know." He said as he stepped back "I just do what I can."

"There's someone that I have to find", he continued. "Someone who can do a lot of good. She's lost right now, and I have to leave the country to find her."

"Let me help you find her."

It was a good idea. It was a really good idea, but Oliver had the feeling that finding Chloe was something that he had to do himself.

He also knew that he had been spending too much time inside of the Watchtower. Almost the same way that Chloe did when she got lost.

That's when he remembered his own words to her. _"The places that I had sunk to, the depths that you must have had to go to bring me back."_

That's when he realized- he was meant to travel the same path, and go down the same roads. He needed to think the way that she did in order to bring her back. That was the only way. And he couldn't get Mia too involved. It wasn't safe for her.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Mia."

"Why not?" she demanded "I can shoot an arrow almost as well as you can. You trained me yourself."

It was true. He had pushed Mia into training. Sparring and training excited her, which was why she could progress very quickly. Not to mention that she was already a great fighter when he found her in the first place.

She was a teenager. Emotions ran on high. Her past and present were already pushing it. He would never forgive himself if he asked her to accompany him down this road and she went insane. Oliver had already gone down it once before- he was fairly certain that he could find his own way back this time. But Mia was just a kid.

"I don't doubt your skills in any way. This is just something that I have to do myself."

"Then trust me. Let me help somehow."

Chloe's voice echoed in his head again. _"We trust each other. Clark tells me everything."_

He needed to tell someone what he was doing. The only human contact that he had recently was with Lois and his doorman at the Clock Tower. One he had lied to constantly, and the other he just made small talk with. He needed to confide in someone. Bounce ideas off of somebody. Maybe Mia could help in that way.

"Her name is Chloe Sullivan. Do you remember when we first met and I told you that I knew what it was like to be lost?"

She nodded.

"She pulled me out of it." He said

"And now that she's lost, you feel that it's your role to pull her out of it?"

Mia seemed right, but somehow it felt like much more than just an obligation to Chloe.

He looked down at the city again. "Something like that."

She adjusted a glove. "How have you been trying to find her?"

"She left two goodbye videos before she left. She meant to delete the second one. I've been trying to get some clues from that, and from her belongings."

"And how has that been working for you so far?"

"Dead ends. All of them. I think that I need to start looking outside of the country- she mentioned Italy in the second video. That's the first place I'm going to look. But I'm running out of ideas fast."

"What about the people she's close to?"

"She lives with her cousin and her best friend doesn't want to help. And then, there's me."

"No, what about the people in her past?"

He didn't know about too many people from Chloe's past. There was a Pete Ross who worked at the Torch. He was in an old picture with her and Clark. Maybe he knew something.

"What about them? She probably hasn't spoken to them in years."

"Probably doesn't mean that she definitely hasn't. She could have called in a favor."

"It's something to consider. Thanks."

He turned to leave.

"Oliver."

He turned around. "Did you call me here for a reason?"

"Yes. I'm going to be in and out of the country for a while. Do you mind taking over my patrol for a bit? Keeping an eye out?"

"Sure"

That's when he started thinking of her safety. If he was out of the country and she was in trouble, who was going to help her? Emil could help with the medical issues, but she needed back-up on the field.

"I'll send you the number for Dr. Hamilton in the morning in case something goes wrong and you need medical attention. If you need back-up on the field, call for The Blur."

"The guy in all of the newspapers? Okay."

He nodded. "That's only on the scene. I want you to check in with me every single night after patrol."

"Okay, but I don't know your patrol route."

He took out his cross bow, and shot out his zip-line. "Well, it's time to learn, isn't it?"

She took out her own crossbow and shot her zip-line. "After you."

Together, they travelled in the air across the city, two shadows in the night. And as he saw her mimicking his own moves perfectly, he knew that Mia would be just fine. She was ready for this. He trusted her.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 24

Oliver was staring at Watchtower's computers- there was a laptop bag and a small suitcase at his side. He was packed to leave Metropolis, but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to open the door and walk away.

His eyes travelled from the computers to the opened double doors, and then back again. The jet was fuelled and ready, his pilot was waiting for his arrival, and Mia was keeping an eye on the city. Everything was fine, but he still couldn't leave. He remained rooted to his spot. Why couldn't he move?

Chloe was here. Her presence filled the Watchtower- by using the computers she once used, by drinking her coffee, sticking his clothes in her washer, and shoving leftover takeout in her fridge, it almost felt like she was still here.

Even the penthouse carried her presence. Her things were scattered all around the place: there were books, files from the Isis Foundation, old newspaper articles and her old memories.

If he stepped outside of those doors, it would mean leaving her presence behind temporarily. Oliver suddenly felt the impact of complete and total loneliness. And he started to feel afraid. He was going to Italy without any backup from the team and without her voice in his ear.

He had no idea how dangerous this could be, just scouring the globe looking for one woman. With his luck and lifestyle, an innocent act like looking for somebody could stir up a lot of trouble. And he had no backup plan if it did.

He would feel a lot better with some support, like knowing that Impulse was on speed dial in case he needed him, or that Aquaman was only a swim away. But he didn't know if that was the case.

The truth of the matter was that Chloe knew where the rest of the team was, and she was the only one. She had tracked them all down and got them all back together in order to bring him back, and then they left the city.

They all went their separate ways, and she tried to contact them once or twice in order to take down Icicle, but they never responded in time. Oliver was certain that their location was in Watchtower's database somewhere, but he didn't know how to access them.

Chloe did a good job in making sure that a stranger couldn't access incredibly important information, and now he felt like a stranger to the people he brought together in the first place.

He didn't know how helpful they would be, even if he did know their locations. Clark's reaction was enough for Oliver to want to keep them in the dark. He had a feeling that Chloe's willingness to leave them all would give them a reaction similar to Clark's. They might say that he needed to respect her decision, and that she had a choice in her own life. And that would make him feel more alone than he felt now.

Oliver bent down and unzipped his suitcase. He dug through his clothes, and found his folded bow and quiver.

He pulled out his bow, and heard the familiar whirring noise as it unfolded in his hand. He closed his eyes as he drew back the bowstring gently, and held it in position without an arrow in place.

Her fingers were here at once point. He felt the memory flood back. They were standing right here in the Watchtower, right before everything changed between them.

He could almost feel the touch of her soft fingers as he held the bowstring back. He could feel the uncertainty that she held that night before she released the arrow- the uncertainty that matched his present uncertainty.

When he first started out as the Green Arrow, he was in this very stance, alone. Now, he was in the same stance. His arms were still strong, and were steady against the string's tension.

But he wasn't alone. She was here- her presence embedded right into the bow. And as long as his bow stayed strong, so would his will.

He took a deep breath, and slowly brought the string down. He opened his eyes again, folded up the bow, and returned it to its place in his suitcase underneath clothes. He closed up the suitcase and picked up the handle as he swung his laptop bag over his shoulder.

He walked over to the double doors, and stepped through the threshold. He let go of the suitcase as he grabbed the handles of the doors. His hands rested on the golden handles for a moment.

"I'm going to find you, Chloe", he said softly before closing the doors and locking up.

He drove to his jet, and greeted the pilot on his way inside. He put away his suitcase, and pulled out a file from his laptop bag. It was a copy of Chloe's yearbook comments.

He wanted to see if any of the names sounded familiar- if any of these names matched a file in the Isis Foundation, then he research them and see what he could pull up. Mia had a point when she suggested looking at Chloe's old friends. He was sure of it.

Oliver was in mid page-turn when he heard the clacking of heels coming in his direction. The last time that happened, Chloe showed up with a wacky blue alien crystal and a plan to save Clark. Oliver's head shot up, hoping that it would somehow be her again- with a little bit of small talk and a goal for her visit.

It was Tess Mercer. Her hair was pulled into a tight pun, and she was wearing a royal purple pantsuit.

Great. What did she want?

"Tess." He gave her a curt nod before shutting the file and trying to hide it discreetly.

"If that's last quarter's sales report, then by all means continue."

Ah, so this was about work. Well, he had more important work to do. She could handle the company herself. It's what she always wanted.

"Why don't you tell me what you're doing here instead?"

"You haven't been at the office in a couple of weeks. I thought I would check to see if you were in a drunken stupor again."

He hadn't forgotten Mexico, and the shareholders meeting that night. Or Toyman. She was probably setting him up back then. Was she trying to now?

Oliver stood up and looked her square in the eye. "Well, as you can see, I'm fine."

She still wouldn't leave.

"What?" he asked her "Do you want me to walk in a straight line or blow into a breathalyzer? Or do you want to be more proactive, and do a little search of the plane? I'm not stopping you."

The pilot poked his head in for a moment. "Mr. Queen, we're ready for take-off in five minutes."

He looked at the pilot. "Thank you."

He waited for him to disappear. "I guess that's your cue", he told Tess.

She wasn't paying attention, though. She had gotten her hands on the file, and opened it to the first page, which was a picture of Chloe from her high school years.

"Chloe Sullivan? Clark's best friend? What business do you have with her?" she asked

He took the file away from her and closed it. "She's a mutual friend. She's in charge of a foundation helping troubled people. I'm interested in funding it", he lied.

"I hope you're not using company money. I would hate for it to be wasted."

"I wouldn't worry about company money when a major investment in the company that you worked hard for went up in flames not too long ago."

He was glad that Clark torched the solar towers. He wondered what else Clark was doing in order to deal with the Kandorians and Zod. Oliver felt bad for not supporting Clark. But then again, he was dealing with his own problems.

"2 minutes until takeoff", the pilot's voice emanated from the loudspeaker.

"There's a board meeting in 5 days dealing with a couple of projects gone awry. I expect you to be there." Tess gave him a sharp look before turning around.

"Tess, always a pleasure", he called out as she walked away.

He sat back down and opened the file. He didn't care about the board meeting.

He had work to do.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 40

Oliver was busy. He walked over to the printer and pulled out various printouts. He made his way over to a nearby bookcase, and opened it up to reveal a room.

The room was an ordinary, empty room with three walls. There were no computers in it, but there was a small wooden table with multiple tape dispensers, a container of thumbtacks, and a green pen on it.

The walls however, were the antithesis of empty. The wall to his left had a detailed map of the world on it. It was covered with thumbtacks, of places that he had visited and eliminated.

He had scoured Italy, and had come up with nothing. And then, he looked around in Croatia, Slovenia, and Germany with no success. Each town and city had a thumb tack on it when he was through- a symbol of complete elimination. Four countries down, and the rest of the world to go.

There was a master list next to the map- locations, possible hits. He started pouring over local international newspaper websites for any large changes in the area. If there was an increase in hacker activity or a large change in the people otherwise, it would be added to the list.

The list started off with a couple of minor possibilities in Italy. It was a singular piece of paper containing places that Oliver wanted to check out while he was there. And now, it was the rest of the wall, the list growing as the days did.

In the middle of the room, there was a picture of Chloe smiling brightly. It was a picture that he found in one of the boxes Lois sent him, from when Chloe got her first byline.

Surrounding Chloe's face were other pictures. The pictures contained more than just Clark and Lois. Old meteor infected students from Smallville High, and other people Chloe had come across over the years. There was also a heavy contributor to the Torch for a time named Pete Ross. Oliver wanted to find out as much as he could about the man.

There were also pictures of General Sam Lane and Gabe Sullivan. Oliver was trying to track both of the men down. He had a feeling that the General knew something- he was a powerful man. If anyone knew how to erase the memories of a particular object, Sam Lane would have connections.

He was putting up more pictures of meta-humans that were still alive when he heard the double doors open, and heels clacking towards him. He paid the sound no attention, and kept working.

"Oliver?" a female voice called out as the clacking continued

"Are you here?" it continued

He felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned around briefly. But it wasn't to greet his visitor- it was to get another piece of tape.

"Oliver, I've been worried sick. I called an hour ago to check in, and you weren't picking up your phone. So I kept calling. After the eighth call, I figured I'd try to find you."

The only words that registered in his mind were check in, and find you. He turned around again. It was Mia.

Why was everyone so _worried_ about him all of a sudden? Tess was worried that he had gone on another alcohol binge before his little trip to Europe, and everyone checking him in at the hotels he stayed at asked if he was okay.

At least Mia seemed genuine. "I'm fine", he answered as he put up another picture. He walked over to the desk to grab another piece of tape.

She stood in front of the wall, and grabbed the picture in his hand. "What is this?" she asked as she studied it "Who is this?"

"Meta-human. Person who was born with supernatural abilities." He answered curtly

"Okay. What does this person have to do with your friend?"

"I'm trying to find a connection to her. Trying to see their known associates." He moved to another part of the wall, and posted it up.

"Know associates?" she echoed "Oliver, what's going on with you? The last time you were like this, you said that you were being followed. Is everything okay?"

Everything will be just fine the moment that Chloe is brought back to the Watchtower. How that happens doesn't matter right now.

"Everything's fine." He said as he walked out of the room and moved to the computers

"It doesn't look fine." She said as she walked with him

She ran in front of him before he could get to the computers, and grabbed his shoulders, stopping him.

"When was the last time you slept?"

"Last night", he said, looking at her as if she suddenly turned stupid.

"I mean, when was the last time you really slept? No tossing or turning, no weird dreams, no nightmares, and no late nights."

40 days and 20 hours. Not that he was counting or anything. No, he kept quiet instead.

"You see? You have to start taking care of yourself."

"I'll start taking care of myself once I find her. This is what we do, Mia. Why are you fighting me on this?"

"Because you're no good to the world if you destroy yourself!"

"I'm on a time crunch. I've already wasted more than a month." He shoved past her, and started typing on a computer

She stood beside him as he performed a couple of searches. He could see from the corner of his eye as she looked around the Watchtower, and stared in awe.

"Oliver, where are we? What is this place?"

He smiled to himself. This was the creation that he and Chloe built together. On the establishment that Jimmy Olsen went into debt to pay for.

"This is the Watchtower. It has unlimited access to the knowledge all over the world. And with it, we're able to save countless lives."

"We? You and Chloe, you mean?"

He stopped typing and turned to face her. "You know that I'm the Green Arrow. Chloe is Watchtower- she guides a team of us during missions around the world in order to save people."

"So basically, she made some kind of a GPS system?"

He shook his head. "No, it's much more than that. It's kind of hard to explain."

"Then help me understand."

"There was a time last year when our team split up. We all went our separate ways, and tried to do everything alone. She brought us all back together- gave us a sense of purpose."

She gave him a knowing look.

"What?" he asked

"You like her, don't you?"

He was silent. Everything between them was supposed to be emotionless and simple. He doubted it from the very beginning- he was attracted to her, yes. Slight feelings for her? Yes. But definitely like in a way that could one day lead to love? Well, he wasn't opposed to the idea. But Chloe would be, if he could ever find her in the first place.

"I just…have to find her." He said before resuming his typing

She nodded her head. "I know. Come on, let's grab some dinner."

"Mia, what part of time crunch do you not understand?" he asked

"Look, you told me before that you don't want me to help you look for her. Just to keep an eye on the city. I finished patrol an hour and a half ago."

He felt the guilt suddenly hit him. Mia could have been in trouble when she called earlier, and he didn't even pick up.

"Everything's fine, thank you for asking", she continued. "So the least you could do is let me get a full meal in you. Maybe we'll negotiate a proper sleeping pattern later. If not, you can come back here, and type to your heart's content."

As if on cue, his stomach started rumbling.

"I'll take that as a yes." She walked over to the desk and grabbed his jacket. She held it out for him. "Come on, I'll even let you drive. And you can tell me all about Chloe Sullivan."

He let out a sigh, and grabbed the jacket. "One hour."

"Two hours."

"Hour and a half." He negotiated

"Done." She agreed as she opened the double doors. "Now, come on. I'm starving."

He smiled slightly as he put on the jacket. She reminded him of Chloe a little bit. Maybe he'll introduce Mia to her one day; maybe even integrate her into the team.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 45

Oliver was in his jet again, looking at some files while Mia was covering his patrol in the city. He sighed to himself as he flipped a page. He didn't like the idea of Mia being out there while he was sitting around reading. It wasn't fair- he knew it wasn't fair.

He was making an impromptu visit to Shaoxing, China. By some miracle, he was able to program the Watchtower computers to give him an alert if any suspicious activity occurred throughout the globe- he was now able to track down possible new heroes and villains.

The program took him 3 days to create, and when it finally executed without any bugs or other problems, he felt an all natural high. This was why Chloe enjoyed her role as Watchtower. He knew that if she was there to witness what had been accomplished, she would be proud. Might have even ruffled his hair and teased him.

But the first thing that she would have done was make the program secure, so Oliver built firewall after firewall. It took another day before he was satisfied.

Chloe had taught him how to build firewalls herself. He remembered coming back to Watchtower after Valentine's Day, and looking around to see a very tired Chloe greet him. She told him that she and Lois had both been under the influence of persuasion-kryptonite that day due to a powder that Clark had inhaled.

Oliver never knew the specifics of what happened that day, but he knew enough. He knew that Clark told her to watch his back, and she decided to abandon her duty as Watchtower. She built her own firewalls to protect Watchtower's database, and left for the Daily Planet.

He wished that he could say that he didn't know what compelled her to try and take down Zod's satellites herself, but he did. Oliver felt her urgency to take out the Kandorians in order to preserve the human race.

Chloe knew that as long as the satellites were offline and in development, she had a chance to destroy them. Clark's trip to the future showed that she wouldn't be able to once they were up and running and she had to try.

Oliver was at Star City on business when everything was going happening. He had to plaster a fake smile on his face and show his support for the solar towers that were going to bring destruction to his species. It sickened him, but he did it.

She fought Tess- he knew it, and she knew that he knew it. But she avoided the topic, and taught him how to build firewalls that night. It wasn't the fight that she was upset with. She hated that her one opportunity was spoiled.

Tess also insulted her abilities. She told Chloe that she would never be able to crack her system. But Tess relied on a system that had been built for her, not one that she created herself. And Emil wasn't able to break through the multiple firewalls that Chloe had built earlier in the day.

He thought that if she taught him how to build firewalls, it would distract her from her irritation. And it worked.

What Oliver wished that he could do though, was erase the image of her pulling glass out of her back as he walked in out of his mind. Maybe Chloe's meta-human friend could do that once he found them.

If he found her in Shaoxing, then everything would be okay. There was an increase in hacker activity there, but it seemed to go deeper than just commercial fraud. Whoever it was, they were to take down the Chinese Mafia. And that was hero work, not the work of a normal person.

The database was able to center the activity to the east of the city. He hoped that a local would be able to give him more information.

The press was going to be all over this one- they were going to be asking what he was doing at Shaoxing. He closed the file, and took out his laptop. He had twenty minutes before the jet landed, which meant that he had twenty minutes to create a back-story.

Chloe was always amazing at creating back-stories.

He should have learned Chinese. It was a good thing that he had copies of the newspaper articles the database pulled up, in both Mandarin Chinese and English. He was having trouble getting a local to speak English.

He kept walking up to random people and pointing at the newspaper articles. And he had to act like a tourist as they looked at him in confusion. Maybe the fish market was a bad place to look.

He was about to call it a day, and look in another area when he heard a Chinese man speaking to a customer in Russian. He could recognize a Russian accent from anywhere. He waited until the customer left before approaching the vendor.

He handed the man the Mandarin copy. "I'm looking for the man in charge of this group." He spoke in fluent Russian

Oliver watched the vendor's eyes grow wider and wider as he read the article. Jackpot. He knew something.

The man handed him the article. "I'm sorry, sir. I can't help you."

Bullshit.

"Look, I'm not trying to get them in trouble, and I'm not trying to expose them. I want to help."

"I can't help you."

"You can't, or you won't?"

The man sighed. "Look, the mafia is the only thing keeping this market around. I'm a fisherman. I have to sell my fish."

"I understand. Thank you for your time."

Oliver turned around, and started walking away slowly. This man was being pressured into keeping quiet, and he just showed him kindness. It looked like it was a rarity.

"Wait."

He smiled triumphantly before turning around and walking back.

"There's a man named Wan Song", he spoke as Oliver scribbled on the newspaper. "At seven o'clock sharp, he wanders around the center of the Orchard Pavilion. It's not too far from here. He speaks English and Russian. Tell him that Li Tang sent you. He'll take you to the center of the resistance."

"Thank you. I won't tell a soul that you helped me."

"Can you defend yourself?" the man asked "I can tell that you're not exactly a local. The people here have gotten paranoid- you might have to prove that you're not a traitor."

"I'll manage", he answered, shaking the man's hands. "Thanks again."

He flashed a smile before turning around and walking away. He had a location.

He found directions to the Orchard Pavilion on his cell phone, and made an agreement to create a branch of Queen Industries in the wealthier part of the city before making his way over to the place after dinner.

As he walked around the Pavilion, he tried not to think about how more prepared he would be if he wore his Green Arrow outfit. But he didn't have the Impulse Express to rely on right now.

The Green Arrow used to make international trips, but Oliver Queen would "take" the jet back a couple days before the Green Arrow did. After making sure that a particular area was safe, Bart would speed him back. Oliver had already created a back-story for himself- he couldn't destroy his cover now.

He found a man leaning against a wall, smoking. "Wan Song?" he called out hesitantly

The man perked up, and stared at him.

Oliver showed him the English copy of the newspaper article. "I'm looking for this group of people. I want to help."

He could feel Wan Song's hesitation. "Li Tang sent me."

The man nodded. "Follow me."

He followed Wan Song as they walked around the Pavilion. Ten minutes later, the man stopped abruptly.

Oliver caught up to him, and grabbed his shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?"

Wan Song nodded, and then pointed at something in the distance. Oliver turned around and looked ahead. There was nothing.

The man suddenly punched Oliver in the temple. He let out a groan, and plunged into the darkness.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 46

When Oliver woke up, he quickly realized that he was being blindfolded. He wondered why he wasn't gagged.

"He's awake" a rough voice said.

English. These guys spoke English. Russian wasn't necessary anymore, they could understand him.

Okay, so there's someone else here. "Where am I?" Oliver asked, his voice thick

"I wouldn't worry yourself with that." The voice replied

"Your leader. I need to speak to your leader." Oliver managed

"He wants to talk to the boss." The voice seemed to be speaking to somebody else.

"How can we tell if we can trust him?" Another voice spoke

"He's blindfolded. He won't be able to hurt the boss- the boss can't be seen."

Okay, so much for genders being used to describe their leader. All he needed to know was whether or not the boss was a woman.

"Where is the boss?" the rough voice asked

"Back in a day to check on things."

"Knock him out until then."

Oliver knew that they were going to inject him with something, and fast. He couldn't get any more information out of these guys if he was asleep. He started to struggle, but his hands and feet were bound.

"No", he said as he felt someone hold him down.

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 47

Oliver didn't bother speaking when he woke up. There were voices speaking in the distance, and he needed to listen.

"Wan Song brought this guy a couple of days ago. Rich type."

"What did Song say about him?" Oliver recognized a distorted voice

Chloe could have distorted her voice to sound like a man's. Nothing was definite yet.

"That Li Tang sent him."

"Li Tang is a trustworthy source. If he's on our side, he's not going to be very happy with his current state. Take me to him"

Oliver heard footsteps, and then a door opening.

"Oliver?" the distorted voice asked

He heard footsteps approaching him. A hand held up his chin, and stared at him closely.

"For the love of…what are you two waiting for? Bring him to my quarters, and get him cleaned up. Now."

So this person was a friend? Was it Chloe? Did he finally find her? What was going on here? What was she doing?

He felt someone untie his hands, and then his feet. His arm was dragged across someone's shoulders, and he was led to another room. They kept the blindfold on, and then set him down on a cushiony surface…a bed? A couch?

Footsteps sounded away from the room, and a door shut. Within minutes, the door opened again, and a chair was moved towards him.

The blindfold came off, and he saw a dark room, filled with computers and miscellaneous gadgets. He was sitting on a couch, and there was a small Asian woman seated in front of him, pressing a damp cloth to the wound on his cheek.

He remembered a time when Chloe put him back together after Carter Hall threw him into a window.

Oliver winced as the wound on his face stung. He still remembered every word.

"_I thought you said it didn't hurt", Chloe said with a worried voice._

"_I lied." He answered_

This was a different woman. Even though Chloe tried to make everything business and nothing personal, she still had a caring touch then. This woman was cold towards him as she treated his injuries.

"What's your name?" he asked kindly

She didn't reply. Just focused on the cut on his neck.

"Who do you work for?" he asked

Still silence. Maybe she didn't speak English. Weird since the people she worked with did. And their leader.

"Do you work for a man or a woman?" he tried again

There was no reply, and Oliver stopped trying. If she didn't want to speak, that was fine. This was apparently the head honcho's living quarters. There were computers everywhere, but it didn't look like Watchtower. Not at all.

If Chloe wasn't the brains of the operation, then who was?

His thought pattern was broken as the woman abruptly left the room, and mumbled words to someone outside. He waited patiently for ten minutes until the door opened.

And Victor Stone walked in, a small plate of food in hand.

He sat down in front of Oliver, and set the food on the small table next to him.

"What are you doing here?" Victor asked quietly

"What do you mean, what am I doing here? What are you doing here?"

"I'm the head of the organization. We're a resistance group trying to clean up the city."

Oliver reached for a cube of cheese. "Yeah? What's the reason for the rough handling?"

Victor let out a sigh. "We've been betrayed a couple of times before by double agents. The question Ollie is why did you let them go through with the rough handling?"

He looked at him with a confused look.

"Why don't I see sunglasses, green leather, and a bow? Why did you walk around defenseless in the middle of the night?"

"I was chasing down a lead."

"It was reckless." Victor said, shaking his head. "I can't believe Chloe let you walk out on the field without a bow in your hand. Or at the very least, a gun."

Oliver avoided Victor's gaze, and started staring at the rug.

"Unless you didn't tell Chloe you were going out on the field. What's going on, Oliver?"

There was no avoiding the topic now, not with Victor right here in front of him. "Chloe's gone, Vic."

"What do you mean, she's gone? She's not…"

"No, she's alive. Healthy", Oliver clarified quickly. "She left Metropolis to start her life over."

Victor raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound like her."

"She wants to erase her memory of everything related to the importance of a newspaper. Which means that she's erasing her memory of everything related to Clark, meta-humans…"

"And us", Victor finished for him. "How did Clark react to all of this?"

"Clark…" he stared at the ground for a moment before looking back at Victor. "Clark thinks that we should let her go. That if she wants to start her life over, then we should respect her decision."

"And you don't agree with him."

He shook his head. "No, I don't."

"Good, because Clark's full of crap."

Oliver looked at him in shock. For a moment, he couldn't believe that Victor was actually on his side- that someone with abilities, and who knew what Chloe did for a living was agreeing with him.

And then, he felt a sinking sensation in his stomach. Victor didn't know what he knew. Victor didn't know that he was the one who drove Chloe away.

What Oliver did that day- it didn't seem to matter right anymore. All that mattered was finding her. But still, Victor had the right to know the full story. And since he was a part of the team, Oliver could give it to him.

"Chloe was making Kryptonite weapons to fight the Kandorians in case Zod takes over. She took some of my money to do it without telling me, and I over-reacted. And now, she's gone." He said it all as fast as possible in order to get it out of the way, but he knew that Victor understood him.

"That would explain it."

"Explain what?" he asked

"You look terrible", Victor said plainly.

"Do I?" he let out a laugh before looking at his ripped clothes. "Well, that could be because of your guys beating the crap out of me."

"Your cuts and bruises don't cover everything. You look drained."

"Yeah, well. I have to find her, don't I?"

"Ollie, this goes deeper than your guilt and you know it. But you still have to take care of yourself."

Okay, now Victor was starting to sound like Mia. Why is everyone so worried about him all of a sudden?

"Later." He brushed off Victor's comment

Victor stood up. "Let me help. With my system, we can have her back in Metropolis within a week."

Oliver stood too, and followed him to the computers. "It's not going to work."

"What do you mean it isn't going to work?"

"I have the Watchtower Database looking for her during every second of the day. I don't know how she made herself so invisible, but she did."

"Then I'm coming back to Metropolis with you. I'll plug myself in, and we'll be able to find her from her database. Chloe obviously planned her escape route there. We'll find traces of it." Victor started typing wildly as he spoke.

Oliver really wanted to do just that. Bring Cyborg to Watchtower, and have Chloe back home quickly. But he wasn't trying to drag her back, kicking and screaming, and as of right now, he had no idea what he would say to her if he found her.

There was more to this than just finding Victor, he knew it. The journey didn't end here.

"You have to stay here."

Victor stopped typing, and turned around. "What are you talking about?"

"You're running an operation here, and you have to stay with it until your mission is complete. You're doing good work here, and it would be selfish of me to ask you to come with me."

"But what about Chloe? She has a role in what we do too. She was born to make a difference in the world- you know that."

He nodded. "I do. And I'm going to find her and remind her of that. Don't worry. But I have to get back to Metropolis, and to do that I have to get out of here. And somehow magically heal my wounds before the end of the day so that people don't figure out that I'm up to something."

"I'm sorry about that. If you go out these doors and make a right, you'll find my medicine man. He'll give you something to drink on the jet home. It should fix you right up."

"A healing drink, huh? Any chance we can get that in Metropolis in bulk? Could come in handy."

"Don't think so."

Oliver got up and headed for the door.

"Oliver."

He turned around.

"If you do need me for anything. Backup, a hacking job, or even someone to talk to, I'm not going anywhere. You know where to find me."

Well, that was a relief. It would be nice to have someone to rely on, in case he did need backup. "Thanks."

He shook Victor's hand before heading out the door.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 48

He started moving around the furniture in the Watchtower and adding more. Victor's headquarters in China were too formal, cold almost. It wasn't Victor- Oliver knew the man well enough to know that much. Victor did plan it that way though, so that the people working for him would never doubt his leadership and power, regardless of where he was in the world. It was smart.

The moment Oliver stepped back inside of Watchtower he knew where the idea came from. Watchtower was a beautiful place; there was no doubt of that. The stained glass windows were decorated in designs that were artistic and warm rather than cold.

It was the lack of personal items running around that gave the Watchtower its formal feeling. The walls were bland- there were no pictures or any other indication that the place was anything other than a workplace. And as far as living was concerned, the place only carried the bare necessities- a coffeemaker, a pantry filled with coffee beans, a mini-fridge for leftover Chinese food., a small couch, and a bed upstairs. For some reason, he never went upstairs.

It started out as nothing abnormal at first- Oliver liked to keep Watchtower updated with the latest technology, so he upgraded all of the computers. And then, he did some quick research and upgraded the coffee pot to a top of the line espresso machine. Then the mini-fridge broke, and he replaced it with a full fridge.

And now, he was performing a couple of background checks on some locations in Europe as he waited for a new couch to be delivered. He wasn't trying to replace the old one- this one was just bigger, and could turn into a bed if he wanted to. It was also an emerald green color, which was an added plus.

A computer voice sounded throughout the room. "Unidentified visitors approaching elevator."

He checked his watch, and nodded approvingly- they were right on time. Oliver grabbed his wallet, and opened the double doors. He walked a little, and stepped into the elevator.

When the door opened, there were two men waiting with the couch, assembled and on wheels.

"We have a package for a Chloe Sullivan."

So it would look suspicious to put down his own name for the order. He still wanted to stay out of the public eye for now.

"Yeah, she's upstairs. She told me to sign off, and bring it up." He lied

One of the men held out a clipboard and pen, and Oliver scribbled his name illegibly. "Do you need help?" he asked

Oliver put a hand on the new couch. "No, I've got it from here. Thanks."

He waited for the men to leave, and pressed the button to open the elevator. He was about to step inside, when a voice stopped him.

"So you finally found her? Does that mean that I can meet her?"

He turned around, and saw Mia smiling at him, her arms on top of the couch.

"I couldn't exactly tell them that Oliver Queen was ordering a couch and having it delivered somewhere other than my penthouse." He explained as the elevator doors opened. He wheeled the couch inside, and Mia followed him into the elevator.

"That's understandable, but you could have used another name. Made up an alias, even. I know you have a couple that you use."

"Mia, it's really nothing to look into." He told her as the doors closed and he placed his thumb on the fingerprint sensor.

"Let me be the judge of that. Why did you buy another couch, anyway?" she asked

"Just thought that a little bit of change would be nice." He said as the doors opened again

He waited for Mia to step out and open the double doors for him before wheeling the couch inside. He set it down in another room, and lifted the couch so that he could slip the wheels off.

"Looks like you've been changing a lot of things around here."

He gave the room a look over. "I've just been moving things around a little. Nothing huge."

"For someone who refuses to move things around his own penthouse, it's kind of weird. It's like you're a pregnant woman nesting."

Oliver laughed at the comparison. "A pregnant woman nesting?" That was the best she could come up with?

"No other way to describe it. Are you chasing a good lead, at least? I haven't spoken to you since you left."

"China was a dead end. But don't worry, I haven't run out of ideas."

"Then why does it look like you're celebrating?"

"I'm just moving things around. It's not a big deal."

"What if you don't find her?"

Okay, where did that come from? "What are you talking about?"

"You're getting overconfident- it's like you're trying to give her some sort of welcome home present, and you haven't found her yet."

"It's not a matter of if I find her. It's a matter of when."

"Well, considering she's erasing her memory of you, when's a pretty important point, isn't it? Now, I'm not telling you to be completely one-track minded. I'm glad that you're doing something other than looking for her."

"There's a but, isn't there?"

"But I think that you need to mentally prepare yourself of what you're going to do if you don't find her in time."

"I'll find her."

"You so need a hobby."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, with all that spare time I have."

"No, listen to me. You're putting way too much of yourself into this. You spend every hour of every day looking for her. You take your jet out randomly and fly to some random place in China, chasing whatever lead you can get your hands on. And during your spare time, you redecorate the place. Whatever you do, it all leads back to her."

Oliver didn't see how it was that big of a deal. "So?"

"I'm worried- I don't want you to fall apart if you find her and she has no idea who you are. I understand why you're doing all of this, I do. But I don't want you to feel lost in case everything goes south."

She understood why he was doing all of this? What exactly was it that she understood? "Thanks for your concern, but I'll be fine. I won't be lost."

She put her hands on her hips. "Really? Oliver, when was the last time you did some target practice? When was the last time you zip-lined from rooftop to rooftop?"

"I still work out and do yoga every morning."

"Good, but it's not your physique that I'm worried about."

Then what was it?

"I'm worried about your identity." She continued. "What we do out there every night is a huge part of who we are. You taught me that. And I'm worried that you're mixing up her identity with your own."

"Meaning…?"

"Meaning that you're Watchtower now. And that's fine as a temporary deal. But from what you've been telling me, Chloe was one of the strongest people that you've ever met. And she left. What's to say that you're not going to leave too?"

He looked at her closely. That's why she came here. "Is that what you're worried about? That I'm just going to go off on my jet one day and never come back?"

"It's on my list, yes."

"There's a list? What's on the top of it?"

There was a short period of silence before she spoke.

"That you're going to get yourself killed, and I won't know about it until it's too late."

Oliver realized that she had a rational fear, especially with their lives. He felt more thankful than ever that Victor was in charge of the group in China. They were secretive, and easily took him captive. If the leader had been a total stranger, he could have been killed.

He silently took her in his arms. "I'll be more careful. I promise."

She broke the hug. "You've been more of a father to me than anything else. I don't want to lose that."

He smiled. He liked the sound of that. Maybe one day, Mia would be close enough to Chloe to call her a mother. "You won't."

And in that moment, he hoped with all of his heart that he would be able to fulfill this promise. But confidence aside, he knew that there was no guarantee, not with what they did everyday.

He wished for the desire to just give up on everything and patrol the city with Mia every night. But he didn't feel that need. He knew that he should have- that it was…human to feel that way. He still cared for Mia; there was no doubt about that. But he wasn't detached from his goal. He still needed to find Chloe.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 50

Oliver was making a couple of additions to the secret room when his cell phone suddenly rang. Thinking that it was either Mia or Victor, he dropped everything that he was doing, and reached for his phone. He hoped that Mia didn't get herself into trouble.

"Incoming call from Clark Kent. Accept or reject?" the screen read

Yeah…no. He pressed the reject button. He would check the voicemail later, and see if it was important.

He reached for his updated list of locations, and was about to tape it to a wall when his phone rang again. It was Clark again. Oliver wanted to reject it again, he really did, but it could be important- Clark could really need his help with something.

He let out a sigh and pressed the accept button. "Oliver Queen", he answered formally.

"Oliver, where are you? Are you at the penthouse?" he sounded angry

He quickly left the room and closed the bookcase behind him. He didn't want Clark to see the wall. It was private.

"No, I'm not there. I'm at the Watchtower. What do you need?"

There was a sudden gust of wind, and Clark was suddenly right in front of him.

"Why did you tell Lois about Chloe?" he demanded

Oliver hung up his phone. "Hello to you too, Clark."

"Well?"

It seemed like almost a lifetime ago when he nervously drove over to the Talon and told Lois the basics of what happened. But still, the reasoning for his actions hadn't changed. "She had a right to know." He said

"How much did you tell her?"

He walked over to the desk, and sat down. "I told her that Chloe's past became a bit much and that she felt like she needed to get away, start her life over somewhere else."

"You had no right to tell her anything at all."

Oliver leaned over the desk. "You're right, Clark. The right and the responsibility were all yours, but you didn't step up. I had to."

"She didn't have to know."

He stood up from the chair. "Clark, they lived together. Do you seriously think that Lois wouldn't have figured out that Chloe went somewhere? That she just never came home one day? She's smarter than that- she would have figured it out one way or another."

"Lois is has a lot to deal with right now with work. She doesn't need the added stress of Chloe's disappearance."

"She's a big girl, Clark. It's a necessary stress. Besides, I didn't see Lois complaining when she offered to help me find Chloe."

"She doesn't know what Chloe does- at this point, she knows Chloe as well as her sister does!"

Only one word registered with Oliver. "Sister? Chloe has a sister?"

His mind started speeding up. How did he not know about a sister? This could be another lead. How much did this sister know? What connections did she have with meta-humans? Where was she? He needed a name before anything else could be done.

How could he not know about a sister? No relatives came up through his searches, and Chloe never mentioned anything. Stupid, he should have asked about his family. Why did he assume that she was an only child?

"Chloe?" Clark interrupted his thoughts. "No, Lois is the one who has a sister. Lucy."

Oh. Okay. That would make more sense. It didn't make her any less important- she was still a piece of the puzzle.

"Lucy Lane? Lois and Lucy Lane. The General sure likes L's, doesn't he?" Oliver remarked, trying to keep his excitement from being noticeable

"That's not the point. The point is that telling Lois about Chloe was wrong."

"Ah, that's right. Thanks for putting things into perspective, Clark", he said sarcastically. Mentioning that Lois had a sister was more important right now. "What's done is done, Clark. Lois knows. You can't take that knowledge away from her."

"No, but what I can do is prevent any more knowledge from being leaked. Did you tell her about me?"

"I told her that the Blur respected Chloe's decision, and did not want to look for her."

"Did you tell her who the Blur is?" Clark asked sternly

Oliver crossed his arms. "Why would I?"

"Revenge maybe."

Wow. "I think that you've been spending a little too much time with the Kandorians." He said, pushing past him.

Clark sped in front of him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're starting to trust them over humans."

"What's wrong with learning to trust your own people?" Clark asked in disbelief

"There's nothing wrong with it. But there is something wrong with trusting the man who caused the destruction of your home planet over the people who raised you!"

"What do you know about providing peace and justice to the world? You don't even patrol anymore! You're blind to what's going on in the city!"

"Are you seriously going to tell me how to be a hero? Show me what matters?" Oliver asked "I'm not new to all of this- I put a group of heroes together in order to take down injustice way before you put your gear. I _taught_ you what matters!"

He took a deep breath. "And about the city and the world? I know every little detail as to what's going on. I'm not always there on scene, but someone's always around. Maybe you've been blind to her, Clark. Woman running around in red and yellow, shooting arrows? Yeah, that's one of my guys."

"So, you're endangering the life of someone else in order to find someone who is long gone. Not a stretch for someone who went an inch too far in giving the city justice."

Clark was going to bring up Lex and Mia now? Lex is old news, and while he felt guilty about putting Mia in danger, he knew that she was ready for it. And he was ready to back her up. "I did what had to be done. And I paid for it. Let it go." He told him

"And now, I'm doing what I have to do in order to save the planet. But you still refuse to help me."

"What's even the point of working with you when you don't even listen to what I have to say?"

Oliver put his hands up in frustration. He could recall things that Chloe said about the topic, and suddenly, everything that she said regarding the Kandorians made sense.

"_Zod will fly psychopathic circles around you." "Our friend's moral compass has gotten us lost more than once. I'm not okay with just sitting around and trusting Clark again."_

"I'm helping Zod", Clark said. "He's an innocent person, and I think that he can change for the better."

"_Clark's in the Kandorian family now and I don't want his loyalties to lead us into another Doomsday scenario."_

Oliver couldn't change Clark's mind, not about this. But he did understand it. "Look", he started. "I understand that this is something that you have to do, but you know that I don't support your decision. And I know that you think I'm wasting my time"

"-I think that if you're still relying on Chloe as a crutch, then you won't be able to help the city. So yes, in essence, you're wasting your time."

But he wasn't relying on Chloe as a crutch. This was something different, like a need? Whatever it was, it wasn't sexual. And it wasn't a crutch, either.

"Maybe we just have to follow our own instincts and see where they lead. And hope that the other is wrong."

Clark looked like he was about to speed off. "Wait", Oliver said to stop him. "Just…know that if things don't go quite as planned, I'll be here."

Clark gave him a curt nod before speeding away. Oliver was expecting it, and just walked over to a computer. Now that Clark was gone, it was time to look for Lucy Lane.

The search was over fairly quickly, which both excited and worried Oliver. 10 minutes, later, a window popped up on the main screen.

He read it, and a huge smile crept on his face. No results found. Hello, new lead.


	15. Chapter 15

Summary: After Chloe is found siphoning money from Oliver's company in order to purchase Kryptonite weapons, she realizes that she losing her sense of humanity. She decides that the only way to escape from who she is becoming is to erase her memories and start over. Oliver has 4 months to stop her before it's too late.

Spoilers: Up to Conspiracy, and then I write my own way.

POV: First chapter is Chloe-centric, and then Ollie-centric for the rest of the journey.

A/N: Send me all the hate mail you want, but I'm not going to stop writing. I criticize Clark because he isn't a perfect character. If you look at my other stories, I provide criticism to Oliver in Queen because he views himself as a murderer. In Survival, Dinah Lance physically attacks Chloe for making Doomsday all about her. In Reunited, Clark criticizes both Chloe and Oliver. I'm going to continue to write this story because I have a single idea/plotline to share. I won't stop. Go ahead and send me hate mail. But at least do me a favor, and make sure that you check your grammar. Otherwise you make yourself look like an idiot.

Chapter Fifteen

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 54

Every computer at Watchtower was busy these days. The main computer was running a search of suspicious activity throughout the globe in order to update the location list. Another room was running a medical background check on Lucy Lane in multiple countries and hospitals, so that a frequency of medical history could provide a location.

In other rooms, background checks were being performed on Lois' father, General Sam Lane, and Chloe's father, Gabe Sullivan. Both seemed to be masters at masking their locations. The mystery did nothing but excite Oliver. The three of them seemed to have gone missing in the same exact way that Chloe had. So far, there were no traces of her family ever existing.

He considered the possibility that Lucy Lane was dead at first, when there were no results. It seemed like a reasonable explanation as to why nobody had mentioned her- maybe they were burying old grief.

But then, he did a background check on Lois; someone he knew for a fact was alive and kicking. It was when that background check came up as a blank that Oliver's face lit up and a smile crept on his face.

There were only two possibilities as to why this could be- either Chloe had done this herself in order to protect her family, or she had learned how to work her way around a computer from the General or her own father.

Given what he knew about the two men, it was more likely for the General to teach Chloe what he knew. If this was the case, then Oliver could convince him to help track her down. If Chloe erased her family from the grid, then he was nothing but proud of her. He always admired how far she went to protect the people she loved.

Oliver just wasn't sure if he wanted the General's help, even if it was offered. He refused Victor's help- a teammate that he depended on mission after mission. He absolutely refused to let Mia get involved, even though she pleaded with him time after time. He turned his back on Clark. Why would he trust a complete stranger, even if he were family to Chloe?

While the computers were running millions of searches, Oliver was at the penthouse, searching through Chloe's things again. He had been digging through it all, little by little whenever he stopped by the penthouse. He opened a box to his left, and removed a textbook from the top. Creative writing.

There was something coming out of the textbook. What was it? He opened up the cover, and took them out. There were two pages, and there was a paperclip holding them together. Oliver removed it. Two crumpled piece of paper, and there was a loose-leaf sheet on top. Most of the words were scribbled out beyond recognition, and the small part of what was legible was fading. He could still make out the first sentence: Clark, I'm in love with you. The sentence had a single line drawn through it, but it could still be read.

Oliver continued to read. "Okay, so that wasn't as subtle as I was hoping for. I'm a little irrational right now. Sorry. Pete just told me that you're sick, and it got me thinking. We've known each other for a couple of years now, and you've never been sick. I guess I never considered that you would just not come to school one day. I never considered what it would do to me."

The letter ended abruptly, and he flipped the page in hope that there would be more. But there wasn't. He put the sheet of paper aside, and examined the second page. It was also crumpled, but this one was type written. The font was clear, and there were no cross-outs.

He read the first paragraph. "I want to let you in on a little secret, Clark. I'm not who you think I am. In fact, my disguise is so thin, I'm surprised you haven't seen right through me."

This seemed more filtered. It read like a beginning of a story. Oliver read the second paragraph, which contained a single sentence. His eyes widened as he read it, and he went back and read it again and again until he could hear Chloe's voice in his head.

"I'm the girl of your dreams masquerading as your best friend."

So she knew a long time ago that she had more than just platonic feelings for Clark. And he couldn't see it- he needed her to spell it out in a letter.

He continued to read the letter. "Sometimes I want to rip off this façade like I did at the Spring Formal, but I can't because you'll get scared and run away again. So I decided that it's better to live with the lie than expose my true feelings."

Oliver started getting angry, because this meant that her and Clark gave it a shot, but he ran away. He didn't know if Clark sped away to save someone that night, or if things just got a little too real for him. But he wished that Chloe didn't have to hide under a disguise for so long.

"My dad told me that there are two types of girls: the ones you grow out of, and the ones you grow into. I really hope I'm the latter."

Clark left for Lana. It made sense that Chloe would silently go home, and have her father comfort her. He could tell from reading her Torch articles that regardless of her outgoing personality, she kept to herself and her close group of friends in high school.

He was glad that somebody was there for her then. He wished then that he had met her years ago, that he could be the person to help. But he wasn't, and the one person who was there for her and broken her heart.

"I may not be the one you love today, but I'll let you go for now, hoping one day you'll fly back to me. Because I think you're worth the wait."

Oliver abandoned the letter when he realized that there was no more, and went straight to the liquor cabinet. It had been a while since he had a drink of any kind, and he needed one right now.

He grabbed a bottle of scotch, and poured himself a glass before sitting down at his desk. He opened a drawer, and pulled out the binders of articles from the Torch. There was one in particular that he was interested in, and he remembered the exact title. "Ideal Student Breaks Perfect Attendance Record".

He knew that it was in the second binder, and was somewhere in the back. He flipped through it, trying to find a date. February 18, 2003. Chloe was 15 years old.

Oliver stared at the full glass in front of him, wanting to gulp it all down. But he couldn't. His mind wouldn't let him. It just went into overdrive.

She had true feelings for Clark, feelings that probably didn't go away when she started dating Jimmy, considering how she always dropped everything in order to help him. She still did as an engaged and then married woman, but it was different now.

Him leaving in order to start his training at the Fortress right after Jimmy died destroyed her. She was probably relying on him to help her go through everything, but he had left.

She wrote the letter years ago, but he should have kept it in mind. Clark should have known that the emotions were there. Maybe there were platonic after all that time, but the emotions were there at one point. He had good intentions of leaving to protect her, but he should have known that the best thing that he could have done was stick around.

Oliver was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't even hear Mia open the door and invite herself inside. He didn't watch her as she stepped inside of the penthouse, and saw the discarded letter on the floor. He didn't see her bend down and pick it up to read it.

But he did hear her when she walked over to him. Because she said, "Are you going to drink that?"

He continued to stare at the glass for several minutes before he finally decided. "I can't."

He grabbed the glass before getting up and heading over to the kitchen. He watched as the liquid left the glass and went down the drain. Just like Chloe's hope had.

"How long ago was it written?" Mia asked

"Seven years ago."

"A lot changes in seven years."

He nodded his head. "A little too much changed her."

"Do you think that she would have left if she was the same?" she asked

He stared at the sink, and swallowed the lump in his throat. "I don't know", he whispered.

"I think that her strength is still the same." Mia told him.

"Yeah, I think so too."

"And I think", she continued. "That the raw emotion is still there. Somewhere. You just have to find it. And find a way to bring it out."

Why did Mia think that he wanted to bring out Chloe's emotions? And why was he standing there, just nodding at her words?

He changed the subject after realizing that she probably had a reason for stopping by. He walked out of the kitchen, and headed over to his office. He put away the binder, and pulled out his laptop.

"What can I help you with?" he asked

"Oliver, that's not important right now."

"Well, you obviously came here for some reason or another."

She placed her hand on the front of the laptop and pushed it down slowly until it closed.

"Don't do this."

"What?" he asked, confused. "What am I doing? What's the matter?"

"You're making things strictly about business. Nothing personal. Just like she did."

"You don't know her", he said, defending Chloe.

"I haven't met her, but I know her. Maybe not as well as you do, but I know her", Mia said.

"Mia."

"Fine. I need you to patrol tonight. I have an exam tomorrow, and I really need to study for it. I've been trying to bring it up all week, but…"

His eyes darted in the direction of the Arrow room. He hadn't been inside in a long time.

"I know that it's going to be hard for you. But I could really use the time to study."

He remembered what Clark said about endangering her life, and not patrolling the city recently. And he was right about that. Oliver had been taking advantage of Mia patrolling whether he was in town or not. It took time from her life, and that wasn't fair. Especially when he was right here.

"No, it's fine. Don't worry about it."

"I'm sorry to just spring this on you. I know you haven't patrolled in a while, and you're a little out of touch."

"What am I, old?" he asked

"You haven't shot an arrow in a while. Your accuracy might be off."

He remembered being just as good with a bow when he patrolled for the first time after Chloe took his out of his downward spiral. "I'm sure it's just like riding a bike."

"Except of course, you're riding a zip-line instead. Just humor me, okay? Get out a target, and shoot it."

He placed his thumb on a fingerprint scanner and waited for a drawer to open. He reached inside of the drawer, and grabbed a small remote before closing it.

Mia followed him as he made his way over to the Arrow room, and opened it. He stepped inside, and felt his outfit. Green and black leather. Customized for his fit. He felt a part of himself returning as his nose embraced the familiar scent of leather.

He could feel Mia's eyes on him as he grabbed his folded bow. He closed his eyes as he unfolded it, and smiled as he heard the whirring sound.

Mia rolled out a target a good distance away from him, and stood behind it. "Shoot the target."

He walked over to the rack of titanium arrows, and touched the tip before swiftly grabbing one out of the rack and slipping it into his bow. He held back the string in place for a split second before releasing it.

Bulls-eye.

"Am I still out of touch?" he asked Mia innocently


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Days without Chloe Sullivan- 54 (Nights without Chloe Sullivan- 55)

Oliver continued his target practice, even after Mia had slipped out of the penthouse with a smile on her face. It felt as if he was on the verge of figuring out another clue, but he just couldn't get there yet. Target practice was helping- with each shot arrow, he was gaining clarity.

Maybe it was because he was standing in the Arrow room. He always felt comfortable here. It might have been because it was painted green. The walls at Watchtower white- sometimes too white for his taste.

He released an arrow before a memory came rushing back to the front of his mind. "So, green's your favorite color, but you don't know what it truly means?"

Color combinations. Colors into numbers, and changing the numbers into coordinates. When the team started taking down 33.1 facilities around the globe, Lex started hiding the coordinates of other locations. But there were so many that he created codes to represent coordinates, so that he wouldn't forget their locations himself. Sometimes, he hid the numbers in colors.

Oliver remembered grabbing an incomplete rubix cube from Chloe's apartment ages ago when he told Lois about her disappearance, right before she started shipping him Chloe's things. The rubix cube was right in his hand, alongside with the Daily Planet check and the binders.

He assumed that since Massachusetts was a bust, there was no point in looking into the cube, but Mia started teasing him about being rusty. And that reminded him of Chloe.

He remembered her being able to find coordinates to a facility based on the fact that every room in a previous one was painted white, except for one oddly colored room, which was painted purple. It had miscellaneously colored pieces of furniture, and she was able to distinguish the individual shades from his sunglasses' video feed.

God, she was smart. She was so smart. She was able to take a single clue and use it to find coordinates of two more facilities. He programmed the entirety of Watchtower's database into his own system at the penthouse. Hopefully he would be able to find something.

He hoped that Chloe's coordinate algorithm program would be able to point him in the right direction. He remembered exactly where he put the rubix cube- thankfully; he hadn't been moving things around too much.

He gently picked it up and examined it closely. 6 sides, one filled with white boxes. 9 squares on each side. He took out a piece of paper and pen from his desk. White boxes.

"See these rooms?" Chloe asked while pointing to the video footage. "They're all painted white. White is a blank code. These rooms aren't important."

He wrote on the piece of paper- side one, blank.

He moved the cube so that he could look at another side, and examined the first row. White, blue, and green. He remembered each individual shade having a different code to it.

"See this blue desk? It's a wooden desk that has been painted on. Now you know Lex just as well as I do- he would have liked the natural beauty of the wood. At least, he would have if it were in his own home. It's a dark blue, so the code is 333CC. The whole part of that code is 3331212. C is twelve."

Blank, 3331212. The next part was green. "So, green's your favorite color, but you don't know what it truly means?" She asked, letting out a laugh. "Okay, look. This is a dark green. Forest green, even. 336600. Now, was that hard?"

Blank, 3331212, 336600.

Second row: orange, red, yellow.

"What's that little bit there on the wall?" She muttered before clicking the area and magnifying it. "See, he painted a little tile on the wall orange. FF9900. F is fifteen, so the whole thing is 15159900. And this little red part here? FF3300. So that would be 15153300."

What was yellow? "Yellow, like the beautiful shining sun. It gives Clark his powers, you know."

"What, giving me alien trivia now?" he asked with a chuckle

She gave him a smile. "FFF33. 15151533."

"Lots of 1s and 5s. Got it," He replied as she continued to type.

Oliver worked at a slow pace until he finally had all of the numbers written down. He made his way over to the computer, and typed out each individual digit carefully. He double and triple checked his data before starting his coordinate search.

It was going to take a while. He let out a sigh before the alarm in his cell phone went off. It was time to start patrol. He shook his head. It took him 3 hours to decipher the code while it had taken Chloe ten minutes 2 years ago.

He opened up the Arrow room again. He was barely able to get by with the help of her programs and software. Without them, he would be completely lost. He was no Watchtower- that was Chloe. Shooting arrows was his thing.

He changed into gear slowly. He hadn't worn it in a long time, and it took him some time to get used to his old ritual. Leather pants, Teflon vest, leather vest. He replenished his quiver- three rows with titanium arrows and the rest with trick arrows. He stashed away his folded compound bow and crossbow.

He gently pulled the hood over his head, and covered his eyes with his sunglasses before checking the time. It was time to start patrol.

Oliver made his way over to the roof of the Watchtower, recalling his patrol route while listening to the police scanner plugged in his ear. He usually zip-lined over to another roof before reaching to the center of the city, but the police scanner indicated that there was a burglary occurring.

He aimed his zip-line in the opposite direction, and held on to the end tightly before stepping off of the roof. He smirked to himself as he traveled from Watchtower's roof to another. This had always been the closest that he ever came to truly flying.

He was able to quickly make his way over to where the burglary was taking place. He took out his compound bow and shot two knock out gas arrows to where the thieves were running. He watched as they stumbled in place before falling to the ground, dropping the bags that they were holding.

He jumped down from the roof and rolled on the floor, scooping up the bags. He gave the contents a glance before tying them up, and resting the bags a good distance away from the robbers.

He ran over to a nearby alleyway, where he heard struggling voices. One was a woman's. Rape. Or a mugging.

He put away his compound bow, and took out his crossbow. He couldn't waste time with the gas tonight. Whoever this was needed to be stopped immediately.

He kept running until he saw the shadows become more distinct. There were definitely two figures- a man and a woman. "Stop", he said with a distorted voice.

Of course the man wouldn't listen to him. He punched the woman, and she fell to the floor.

"Good punch. But I have something a little stronger", Oliver told the man before pulling the trigger. The man was shocked, and was knocked out immediately.

He walked over to the man, and checked his pulse to make sure that he didn't kill him. The man would be fine.

"These people never learn", he said to nobody in particular.

He was about to go check on the woman, when he felt something trip him. He fell to the floor. Suddenly, a group of people dressed in black came out of nowhere, and closed on him before he could get up.

He felt an electric shock start from his back, and then travel to the rest of his body. Why was he being attacked? He wasn't responsible for this!

He tried to talk, but his words came out garbled. And then he was out like a light.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 57

Oliver opened his eyes to find that he wasn't blindfolded or gagged. His sunglasses were still on, and so was his voice distorter. His identity was safe.

He hands were bound by rope, though. No handcuffs or gags with this group- how refreshing. He couldn't pick the lock to escape, and he didn't have a knife with him. He looked at his gear- they didn't take any of it. All he had to do was figure out where he was, how to get out of here, and set his hands free.

He looked around the room, and saw figures dressed in black surrounding him. Okay, so it wouldn't be incredibly easy to escape.

"Ah, he's awake", a female voice spoke. It wasn't Chloe, though. Or anybody else that he recognized. And the voice wasn't distorted.

He took a deep breath. Foe, not friend. And he had no backup. Nobody knew that he had been kidnapped. Nobody was coming, and nobody was here to help him out- it was just him this time. And either he escaped, or died here. Dying wasn't an option. He still had to find Chloe. Her memories were precious to him.

"Don't struggle", the voice said again. "I'll be more than willing to let you go if you just do exactly what I ask you to.

Don't show any sign of fear or panic. Just be confident. "Sure, but I have to warn you lady- I'm not big on whips and chains. The same goes for bondage, so why don't you just untie me?"

She let out a chuckle. "Just answer one question, and I'll let you go: where is Watchtower?"

He wouldn't have given her the answer, even if he did know where Chloe was. But at least right now, he didn't have to lie. "I have no idea. When you find her, can you let me know? I'd like to have a little chat with her."

"You see, I just don't like that answer." He watched as the woman walked over to the other side of the room, stopping in front of a large man dressed in black. She tapped him on the shoulder twice, and the man nodded his head before walking towards Oliver, and punching him in the jaw.

Oliver felt the force of the man's large fist jerk his head upwards, but didn't make a noise. He only centered his head. "Take your anger out on me as much as you want, big guy. That won't change my answer."

The man stood still at Oliver's side, and looked at the woman. "We know you work together. Where is Watchtower?"

"I've never seen Watchtower", he lied. "I get anonymous emails."

He tried to read the woman's face; to try and see if she bought his lie, but she was cold. She simply gave the man next to him a curt nod. Oh, great.

He punched Oliver in the cheek. "It's a real shame, Green Arrow." The woman said. "I've studied your work in the city- it's good. Discrete. You're well known in various locations. We could have worked together, but our members don't keep secrets from each other."

The members didn't keep secrets? Yeah, he doubted that.

"Then, why the mystery? Kidnapping me and beating me isn't the best way to get me on your side."

"Sides? This isn't about sides, Green Arrow. This is about knowing who you're working for. It's about loyalty. Trust. If you really don't know who Watchtower is, or where to find her, then it seems like you trust a little too easily. What if she betrays you?"

She. Great, they knew who Chloe was. By identity and not name, but still. It was enough to worry him. What else did they know? And what was this group, anyway?

"She wouldn't." Oliver answered

"If you haven't seen her face, then how can you be sure?" She asked before giving him a small smile. "See, you do know her. You've worked closely with her. And that makes you a liar."

Taking this as a cue, the man next to him punched him again. Ow.

"I'll ask you again. Where is she?"

"I don't know!" he exclaimed

"Looks like we're going to have to shock it out of this one", she said to the rest of the room. "But with a low enough voltage so that he can still chat."

The man stepped back, and a woman took his place. The way she walked was vaguely familiar, but Oliver couldn't place it.

As she walked behind him, she took out a device and adjusted it. She pushed him forward before jabbing it into his back sharply. And this time, Oliver couldn't fight the excruciating pain that flowed throughout his body.

He was shot once a couple of years ago, and took the bullet silently. He had been pummeled by Doomsday, and hadn't said a word. But this was different.

This made him scream.

"I don't know where she is!" he cried out

"You see, even with enormous amounts of pain, he still rushes to protect her. That's what these people do by default," the leader said to the rest of the room as the device was removed from his back. He was pulled back into the chair as she walked towards him. "They hide their identities, mask their voices."

She walked behind him, and spoke to the woman behind him. "Why don't we hear what our hero's voice really sounds like?"

The woman walked in front of him, and kneeled. He watched her as she savagely ripped the voice distorter out of his ear, and threw it on the floor. The woman was wearing a dark wig, but he recognized the cruelty in her eyes. And now he knew where he had recognized the walk.

It was Tess Mercer. She was working for this woman. He wasn't too surprised.

"Where is Watchtower?" the woman asked again before Tess jabbed him with her device

He let out a yell before the woman kicked the chair forward, and with it, Oliver tumbled to the ground.

The woman drove her heel into his back. "Where is she?"

"I don't know!" He cried helplessly. "I've been looking for her, but I can't find her. No matter what I do, it's not enough", he breathed. "I've travelled to the other side of the world, chasing dead leads. I've done every single thing that I can think of, but I still can't find her!"

The tears were falling down his eyes freely as he voice suddenly got very quiet. "I can't find her." He mumbled. "I can't."

"A shred of honesty. It's a start." The woman said before walking away. One by one, the room emptied out. Dozens of cloaked figures followed her, Tess included.

Oliver was shaking on the floor, still strapped to the chair. He was cold, and couldn't get himself back up.

What if this whole thing was a lost cause? What if Clark was right the whole time and he was really just wasting his time?

He remembered Mia's words. "What if you don't find her?"

He brushed her off at the time, but he was starting to see the reality. There was a possibility that he wouldn't be able to find her in time. Finding her had become his sole priority. What would he do if he couldn't find her in time?

"You have to start taking care of yourself", Mia said.

And then, he thought of what Lois told him. "Chloe's my cousin, and she's my favorite person in the world. And I'm telling you that this isn't her. Chloe doesn't just get up and leave. When things go wrong, she sticks around and fights. She does not just give up."

And neither would he. Screw Clark Kent, and this crazy woman who was keeping him hostage here. He would get out of this. He would find a way.

He started looking around the room, trying to find something sharp when the door suddenly opened.

Great, what did the crazy woman want now?

But it wasn't the woman- it was Tess. She straightened out the chair that he was strapped to, and took out a pocketknife. She stood behind him, and started sawing through the rope binding his hands.

"Oliver, there isn't much time."

His eyes widened. She knew that he was the Green Arrow. This could be bad for business.

She continued to saw through the rope, as she spoke quickly. "You have to get out of here before they come back. Through the back. I shut off the security. All of the agents are reporting to the center, and then they're putting the rest of the building on lock down. You only have 3 minutes, and you have to start running 20 seconds after I leave. Go through the doors, and then make two lefts and a right. The second door on the left is unlocked. Go out through the windows there."

She cut through all of the rope, and shoved a pair of keys in his right hand. "There's a car in the back. It's old and beaten up, but it'll get the job done. It has a GPS system, so you'll be able to get back home. It's a government car, but that doesn't mean that it's completely untraceable. Make sure you abandon it at least 10 blocks away from the penthouse or they'll find you."

She ran to the other side of the room.

"Wait!" he called after her. After everything, he deserved some sort of an explanation.

Tess opened the door. "20 seconds, Oliver." She said before disappearing.

Why was she helping him? She worked for this group. What was she doing, giving him a way out?

He counted to twenty before running out of the room. He knew better than to think that she was a double agent. He couldn't trust her, he decided as he took a second left. There was still the chance that this was all a trap- that she was trying to stand out from the other agents by catching him in an attempt to escape.

He turned right, and tried the second door on the left. It was unlocked, just like she said it would be. And there was a window. It was a bit of a drop down.

A voice echoed throughout the room. "System lockdown in 10…9…8"

There was no time to consider escaping in another way. If he didn't get out of here, they would keep him here for who knows how long. And he wouldn't be able to find Chloe in time if he was held hostage.

"5…4…"

He jumped, and rolled onto the ground. There was the car. He unlocked it, and stuck the keys in the ignition.

The GPS system in the car had the time and date. He had been missing for three days. He had to get back to Metropolis. The coordinate search had probably been completed by now.

Break's over. Time to get back to work.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 58

He parked the car blocks away from the penthouse, just like Tess had told him to. The adrenaline disappeared somewhere during the drive to Metropolis, every cut, bruise, and shock slowly coming to the surface.

The pain motivated him to get back as fast as possible, before he was unable to support his own weight under a zip-line. The van did not have a change of clothing. If something happened to him and he was knocked out, he would wake up surrounded by a crowd of people. And he didn't need that.

What he did need were answers. Explanations. He had no idea who took him, and he didn't know why Tess was even involved in the first place.

Tess. He wondered if she was in any sort of trouble for bailing him out. Probably not. She was always a good liar. What he wanted to know was if she was a good enough liar to keep his identity a secret. Tess inherited the Daily Planet from Lex- he could really do without the extra drama of having his face on the front page.

He made his way up a roof, and looked around for his crossbow. He grabbed it, and set a zip-line arrow in it before aiming for his balcony and pulling the trigger. He heard the familiar noise of the arrow flying out, and eventually had to pull back on the crossbow before the force of the zip-line attaching itself to the roof made him fall down.

He stretched out his arm, and did his best to ignore the pain rushing through his entire body as he stepped off of the roof and flew into the air.

His arm felt like it was about to fall off, and he was losing his grip. Don't let go. Don't let go. Almost there.

He took a deep breath as he fell onto his balcony, and rolled inside of the penthouse. He heard a chair move, and someone call out "Who's there?"

Mia. Why was she here? What happened? He pulled back his hood, and took off his sunglasses. That was when he realized that he unintentionally left his voice distorter behind. Good thing he didn't leave anything else.

"Calm down, Mia. It's just me." He said in her vague direction

She ran over to meet him. "Oh my god." She said as he looked him over. "What happened to you?"

"Don't worry about me", he said, brushing her off. "What's going on with you? What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" she repeated "Are you serious? I asked you to cover patrol three nights ago, and you never checked in to say that you were okay. I was worried. And by the looks of it, I was worried for good reason."

Oh. That would do it.

"This?" he asked, looking at himself. Okay, so he was covered in bruises and his own blood. Maybe that would be bad for his argument. "I've been through worse."

"Okay, so you were abducted while you were on patrol. And they tortured you. What did they want?"

He was silent for a moment. "Chloe."

Oliver saw Mia's eyes widen. "How much do they know? Do they know her identity?"

"They don't know that she's Chloe Sullivan. But they know that Watchtower is a woman that I've worked with. And they want to know where she is."

She sighed. "Well, that's fine, isn't it? You don't know where she is. You can't tell them anything."

But it didn't seem okay. They could track Mia down, they could track down the rest of the team. Other than Victor, he had no idea where anybody was. It wasn't safe for anybody anymore.

"Mia, it isn't fine. I haven't seen Chloe in almost two months. I don't know what she's done recently to put herself on their radar."

"But Chloe's off the grid. Nobody knows where she is, that's why they're looking. That's why you're looking. You said that not even Watchtower's database could find her. She's safe, Oliver."

"But you aren't. They're going to try and track the rest of the team down. And my allies", he realized. He pushed Mia towards the elevator. "It isn't safe for you, Mia. You have to get out of here. Now."

He pushed the down button on the elevator, so that she could leave.

But she wouldn't. "No."

She turned around to face him. "You realize what all of this means, right?"

He stared at her blankly. "What are you talking about?"

She stepped forward. "Oliver, you have to make a choice here. You've been looking for Chloe for weeks now. But whoever captured you- they're going to be keeping a close eye on everything that you do. These people, are they organized?"

He nodded. "There's a swarm of them. They're organized, and they're powerful enough."

"That makes things even worse. They're going to follow you, Oliver. The closer you get, the riskier all of this is going to become."

"I knew the first day I suited up that what my life was going to be risky, Mia."

"For you", she corrected him. "Not for other people. You decided to suit up so that other people would be safe. But the closer you get to finding her, the more you put Chloe in danger. We don't know what they want with her- what if they want her dead?"

He looked at the floor, feeling lost all of a sudden. What was the right decision? Was there one?

She snapped her fingers in front of his face, and he blinked. "Oliver. You don't have to explain anything to me. We both know what you're going to do. And that's why I'm not going to leave and just study in the library like a good student."

He heard Chloe's voice in his head. "You already know what it is that you really want. You all do. We just don't listen."

"I can't let all of the good that she'll do in the future be erased with her memory." He said

"I know." Mia told him.

"I'm not letting you on the field. It's too dangerous. I don't even know who I'm dealing with here. I can't put you in danger knowing that."

"I know", she said. "And I know that you're going to keep doing what you do. But we're going to play this smart, Oliver. Structured."

Structured. Chloe said something about the team needing structure. "See, this is why I keep asking everybody to come up with some sort of standardized trouble alert. The team needs structure." Her voice echoed in his mind

"I'll get my tech guy to work on a standardized trouble alert. So that way if I need backup, you know where to go."

She nodded. "Good idea. A better idea is a good night's sleep", she told him. "And a first aid kid. You look awful." She added

"In a minute. I have to check on a search that I conducted before I left."

She pulled out a remote, and pressed a button. Oliver watched one of his computers descending from the ceiling. "Already done. You're going to need that sleep. Because you're an American citizen, and somehow, you have to find a safe way to Cuba."

"What?" he asked before taking over and accessing the search results.

"Your search came up with Latitude and Longitude. It beeped a couple of hours ago, and then started plugging the numbers into a coordinate system."

So using the colors of Chloe's rubix cube wasn't a dumb idea. Huh.

He checked the second search. 23 degrees, 03 minutes, 4 seconds north. 81 degrees, 34 minutes, 31 seconds west. Matanzas, Cuba.

"It's not just the way there", he said looking at Mia. "Getting out of there is going to be a bitch."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 60

Oliver was at the Watchtower, and he was stumped. He had no idea how he was going to get to Cuba, and he had no idea how on Earth he was going to get out of there once he arrived.

He hadn't even figured out how he was going to explain why Oliver Queen was in Cuba. He had been able to cover up the rest of his trips by telling his shareholders that he planned on making the company more global. They encouraged it, but going to Cuba? They sure as hell weren't going to buy it.

It was illegal for Americans to spend money there. No food, water, hotels, he couldn't even pay for his jet to land. The only way for Oliver Queen to go was if he decided to go on a vacation. And while that was a fine excuse, there was still the landing to worry about, not to mention the journey back.

He would have given up on the idea of Cuba all together if it weren't for one little rule: reporters could go. By themselves, and they weren't encouraged, but they could still go.

They had no backup, but as long as they had a history with journalism, they were able to go as their own press. Chloe probably still had her old Daily Planet things, and was able to fake a copy since she was a journalist there at one point. Her past didn't rule out Cuba as a possibility.

It was dangerous, but Oliver still had to try. He was researching Cuba on one of the computers when the double doors of the Watchtower opened with a hissing noise.

He had gotten used to getting rid of his web browsers the moment someone came into the Watchtower. And after a while, Mia had gotten used to his secrecy- especially since he ended up telling her what he was up to anyway.

Whoever it was, they stopped moving at the door. Just like Mia did when she was taking the place in for the first time. There was an intruder.

He quickly activated the firewalls, and hid behind the spiral staircase. He reached for the gun that he kept in the corner- it would be suspicious if an intruder recognized him as Oliver Queen and saw him equipped with a bow and arrow. And if he quickly changed into his gear, an outsider would know where headquarters were.

He loaded the gun, and walked around slowly, light on his feet. He heard heels clacking throughout the Watchtower, and followed the noise. It was a woman, but it wasn't Mia. And it wasn't Chloe. Oh god, what if Lois tracked him down? He hadn't been keeping in touch with her recently.

He took a deep breath. Watchtower was off the grid- Lois wouldn't have been able to track it down, and she thought that Chloe was still working at the Isis Foundation, even before her disappearance. Chloe made sure that Lois would not be involved with anything that she was. It kept her safe.

He watched from a corner as a woman dressed in a black skirt suit walked around. Her red hair was in a tight knot. Red hair. Tess. What the hell was she doing here?

He put the gun in his pocket for security as he stepped out of the corner. "You know, breaking and entering is a crime." He called out

She froze in place, and turned around to face him. "So is siphoning money from the company's funds." She shot back

Ah, is that how she was going to play it? "I won't tell if you won't. And I'll even leave out that little part about being involved in taking me hostage and torturing me."

"I didn't know who you were."

That didn't really matter. "Would it have made a difference?"

"I got you out of there. Doesn't that answer your question?" she asked

He shook his head. "No, but here are a couple of better questions: What are you doing here, and what do you want?"

"I want to help you." She told him

Wait, what now? "Excuse me?"

"I know you're looking for Chloe, and I want to help you find her."

If she knew that Chloe was Watchtower, then why didn't she tell her little group? It would have given them a name to work with. Okay, it was time for him to play dumb until he knew more information.

"Chloe Sullivan? Lois' cousin? Why would I be looking for her?"

"Because she's Watchtower. And she works with you."

"Right. So why are you here? Why didn't you tell that crazy lady that keeps track of you people?"

"Her name is Amanda Waller, and the organization's name is Checkmate. Don't bother trying to track them down- you won't be able to."

"Checkmate? And let me guess, by the color that you guys dress in, you guys are black. Typical."

"Actually, Waller calls herself the White Queen. She likes to have the opening move."

"Naturally."

Why did Tess give him a name? And why did she want to help him? What would it do for her?

She moved over to one of the computers, and started typing. "Give me 2 hours. I'll crack this system, and we'll have Miss Sullivan back in Metropolis in no time."

Alright, now she was trying to take over the Watchtower, of all places? What, did she think that she could replace Chloe, and beat her at her own game without even knowing so much as her name? What was Tess' endgame here?

"Give me that." He said, yanking the cordless keyboard away from her. "You tortured me not even a week ago, and you seriously think that you can just hop sides? Guess again."

"I told you, I didn't know who you were."

"It doesn't matter, Tess. What does matter is that regardless of whether you knew who I was or not, you were willing to torture a complete stranger because someone told you to."

"If I didn't, she would have killed me. I belong to the Suicide Squad."

Okay, people seriously need to think things through before they go around giving organizations ridiculous names. Suicide Squad? Really?

"With a title like that, you should have known what you were getting yourself into." He told her

"I joined a long time ago."

"It sounded like you're a pretty active member. Waller only volunteered two agents to give me what for. You're a part of the Suicide Squad, and of Checkmate. Whether you want to be or not."

"You have no idea who you're dealing with here, Oliver. You need my help."

"And you have no idea who you're dealing with", he told her.

She ignored him. "I can help you get in so you can find out what they know."

He wasn't going back. Not voluntarily, anyway. "I don't need their information. What I know is enough."

She took out her phone. "Then I'll get Clark in. He'll be out of there with the information quickly."

Clark. She was so quick to bring up Clark, for some reason. Strange, considering the fact that she was teaming up with Zod.

"Clark doesn't need to be bothered with this." They agreed to focus on their own goals, and regroup if something went wrong. A little kidnapping was nothing. Oliver didn't need his help.

"He doesn't know?" Tess asked

"Oh, he knows. He knows everything. Knowledge isn't the same as willingness to help."

"He's reluctant in accepting what he has to do."

Why was she telling him this? He already knew that Clark was indecisive. But she didn't know that.

"And what is it that he hasn't accepted?"

"Clark has been providing the Kandorians with identities, and a new future. But he hasn't taken action as their leader. Just as a friend."

"And you're hoping that Chloe will give him encouragement to do that."

That's why Tess wanted Chloe back. So that she could persuade Clark to overthrow Zod and rule over the Kandorians. And that was her end-game. It was a noble goal, but it wouldn't work.

"They're very close friends. She would be able to point him in the right direction."

So Tess was working with Zod, but she wanted Clark to take over? And she was a member of the Suicide Squad, but she really wanted to help him find Chloe?

He let out a chuckle. "Get out."

"What?" she asked

"I won't let you manipulate Chloe. Or Clark, for that matter. You can forget about it."

"You just want to find Chloe so that she can be Watchtower. I want the same thing."

"I don't trust you." He said bluntly

"We have the same goal. I'm on your side, here."

"Actually, no. You're on Checkmate's side. You're on Zod's side."

"Haven't you been listening?" she asked, frustrated "I'm rooting for Clark! I'm on your side, here."

"No, you aren't. What are you going to do right after you leave here? Go right back to Checkmate and Zod."

"I'm only trying to do what's right for this planet." She said

"I never said that you weren't. But it takes a lot of trust for me to work with someone. And I don't trust you."

"Let me earn that trust, then."

It was too late for that. "You can't", he said simply. "On paper, you're working for Zod and for Checkmate. But in reality you aren't? Come on, Tess, you learned everything from Lex, didn't you? You're unreliable. A liability to my cause."

He turned her towards the elevator, and pressed the down button. The doors opened automatically.

Oliver watched as she stepped in. She could probably feel from the tension that she had outstayed her welcome. He saw that there were tears in her eyes, but stayed strong.

"How do I earn the trust?" she asked again, her voice shaking slightly

He looked her square in the eye. "You can start by picking a side. And sticking to it."

She just stood there as the elevator doors shut, but Oliver could have sworn that he heard a choked sob before he turned away and walked back to the computers.

He felt a pang of guilt, but it had to be done. The next thing on his list was figuring out a way to get to Cuba.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 62

"So you're basically going to wing it."

"Yup", Oliver said as he shoved a t-shirt into the duffel bag.

Mia smacked him over the head. "You're an idiot", she told him. "What happened to playing it smart this time?"

He let out a sigh. "Mia, I've been spending my life tracking down a woman who doesn't want to be found. There's nothing smart about any of this."

She was silent for a moment. "Not the point."

"Actually, it's exactly the point. I'm running out of time here. Two months have already passed. I can't waste any more time. If this is another dead end, I have to know."

"You're walking in blind."

"I'm not walking in completely blind. I know how I'm going to get there." He reasoned

"Do you know how you're getting back?" she asked

"I haven't exactly ironed out the details", he said vaguely as he walked to the other side of the room and opened the door to his closet. He stepped inside, knowing that Mia would follow him in. And she did.

"You're walking in blind", she repeated. "It's dangerous. I'm coming with you."

That was out of the question. He dropped the pair of socks in his hand and turned to face her. "No you aren't", he said firmly.

"If you think I'm just going to let you go, knowing that there's a chance you won't come back, then you're crazy."

"It's going to be fine, Mia. I've gone on missions alone hundreds of times. This is just another one of those times." He turned his back on her, and picked up the pair of socks again. He was going to need a couple of more.

"No, it isn't. Missions are emotionless and controlled. This is the farthest from that."

He knew that rescuing a stranger was different than rescuing someone he actually knew personally. But the team had gone on some missions blind before. It was tough, but everything still ran smoothly.

"Okay, so it's a little different", he agreed. "But that doesn't mean that it won't work out."

"You're going in alone, completely unarmed."

"Yes, because Oliver Queen running around with a bow and arrow doesn't look suspicious at all", he answered sarcastically.

"Pack a gun, at the very least."

A couple of more shirts might be a good idea. "Yeah, and have the thing go off randomly? People accidentally shoot themselves all the time."

"Leave the safety on."

"Fine. Anything else?" he asked

"Oh, you're taking my advice now? Here's some advice- don't go to Cuba. You're asking for trouble."

"That's not an option."

"Yes, it is. There's always an option, Oliver. You have a million leads on that wall of yours at Watchtower. Why don't you check out one of those?"

"This is one of those. Chloe has a history with journalism, and nobody would be able to find her. If I do, then that's that. Problem solved."

"What about Lucy Lane?"

He scowled at the mentioning of the cousin. Chloe's entire family was his white whale. Even though he had cracked code after code, travelled from country to country, her family was still a mystery. "She's hidden right now, as is the rest of Chloe's family."

"Have you tried cracking whatever system there is?"

"That's just it- there's no information anywhere. I can't crack a system if it doesn't exist. If I told someone that I was looking for her and they did a check, they would accuse me of making her up."

She nodded silently. Mia didn't think that he was crazy, did she? Because Chloe exists, she has a past, present, and future. His imagination wouldn't be able to make her up, even if it tried.

"I'm not crazy, okay?" he snapped at her

"I never said that you were, Oliver."

"I know that you never met her, but she's real", he insisted.

He felt her hands on his shoulders, and winced slightly at the contact. "I never said that she wasn't", she said softly. "I believe you."

Oliver took a deep breath, and she removed her hands from his shoulders. Paranoid. He was just being paranoid.

"Sorry."

"It's okay. I get it."

"I just…" he trailed off

"Have to find her", she finished for him, smiling oddly. "I know."

He nodded. "Look, I know you're not exactly on-board with me going to Cuba."

She scoffed. "Understatement for I think you secretly miss your bruises, even though your cuts remain. Go on."

"But you can't come with me. It's not safe, and I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something happened to you because of me."

"I know", she said before walking out of the closet.

Where was she going? He followed her out. "What are you doing?"

He followed as she walked over to his desk, and picked up his cell phone. "I'm going to call Victor."

"What? Victor's in China. I'm going to Cuba in six hours."

"So? You'll wait. Perks of having your own jet- you can just call your pilot and tell him to hang out until tomorrow." She was staring at the phone for a few minutes. "God, how many contacts to you have in here?" she asked, frustrated

He held out his hand for the phone, but she didn't give it. "Mia", he said, motioning with his hand again.

"You're going out there with backup. I can't get there if I'm here and you need me. So, bring Victor with you."

"Mia", he repeated sharply. She looked up. "Victor is working on a very important project right now in China. He never asked me to get involved, and I haven't. I can't just assume that he can go to Cuba with me. And besides, that would mean putting him and his entire project at risk. I can't do that."

"No, you can't", she started. "But you know what you also can't do? You apparently have a problem with being a team player. Which is surprising, for someone with a team."

"Well, I'm sorry I want to keep you all alive."

"Don't be. Be sorry that you can't trust anybody, and that you're becoming paranoid. Be sorry that you can't rely on anybody anymore!" She slammed his cell phone on his desk. "Just call me when you get there, and call me when you get back."

She pushed past him, and made her way over to the elevator.

That was when Oliver realized- she thought that he couldn't trust her. That he couldn't rely on her. And that wasn't true, was it?

He turned around. "Mia", he called after her.

He watched as she shook her head, and pressed the down button. The doors opened automatically, she stepped inside. She turned around, and held down a button to keep the doors open.

"Do me a favor?" she asked "I don't care how beaten up you get, because you won't tell me about it. But you come back alive, you hear me? You come back alive, so I can kick your ass later."

He nodded. "I promise."

"Good."


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty One

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 63

"Mr. Queen, we'll be right above your landing point in five minutes." The pilot spoke through the microphone connected directly to the loudspeaker in the jet.

Oliver stood up. It was time to get ready.

It had been a long time since he had done this, and he had to walk himself through the steps, since the pilot was getting paid enough to keep quiet. He pulled out the gear from underneath his seat, and unzipped it.

He made a quick check list of the contents. There was nothing missing. It took him 3 of the five minutes to get everything on, but he found himself opening up one of the doors to his jet in no time.

The wind was rushing to his face, as he stood gripping the jet. He knew exactly what he had to do here, but it was just so hard to step off of the plane. He thought about Mia, and how she kept saying that he needed to be more careful, that this whole thing was a bad idea, especially since she didn't bring any backup.

If he didn't make the smoothest of landings, then there was a chance that Mia would be right. And Oliver still had no idea how he was going to get out of this country an alive and free man.

He checked his watch. He had twenty seconds before he had to jump, otherwise he would either land in the wrong place or his pilot would have to make a circle and turn around. And now the seconds were disappearing quickly.

He took a deep breath as he looked down, clouds blocking the image of the rough country he was about to land in. He had never been to Cuba- he had no idea how the people were going to treat him, and even though he had the exact coordinates of the house he was supposed to check out, he didn't know if he was going to find Chloe or not.

5 seconds. He had to do this. It was now or never. His helmet was secure, his parachute and duffel bag was strapped to him. He put on his sunglasses and let go of his jet.

Oliver leaned forward, letting gravity claim him and the wind swallow him. He extended his arms and legs, and thought about his sense of direction. The satellite images showed that if he landed a little bit more to his right, he should be okay with location.

He felt the adrenaline flow through his veins as he felt himself fall faster and faster. It was too soon to use the parachute. This was no time to be scared. 3 seconds would guarantee his safety.

2…1…and now. He felt the wind's rush slow down significantly as the parachute popped up. He breathed a sigh of relief and held onto the ends of the parachute. He was so afraid that it wouldn't work, that the parachute would be stuck underneath the duffel bag. All he had to do now was focus on the landing, and the GPS system on his cell phone would take care of the rest. Hopefully, he would be able to find a way out safely.

But where was he going to land? Not in the middle of the city, and he didn't see the little forest that was on the satellite images. The images were probably old, and the forest was probably industrialized. Damn.

He was going to have to land on water and improvise from there. He looked down, and saw a dock nearby. Time to navigate the parachute over.

Oliver found it hard to concentrate on his location when he was constantly looking up at the parachute to move it over, but he made his way over to the nearest dock, and plunged into the water.

The parachute and the rest of his gear was weighing him down, and preventing him from reaching the surface. He quickly disconnected the parachute, and watched as it sank below him. No time. Need. Air. Fast.

He broke the surface of the water and inhaled sharply as he floated. Okay, step one: completed. He swam over to the dock, and pushed himself onto the wood.

He unzipped the skydiving gear , and stepped out of it. He opened up his soaked duffel bag, and pulled out his cell phone to call Mia, but it wasn't turning on.

So his phone was now water damaged. Great. He grabbed the handle of the duffel bag, and walked around the docks until he found a nearby pay phone. He put in a couple of foreign coins in the phone, and dialed Mia's number. It rang only once before he heard her voice.

"Oliver, is that you?" she asked in a worried tone

"Yeah, it's me. I'm here." He answered

"What happened to you r cell phone?"

"I had to take an alternative landing point. It got water damaged."

"Do you have a backup GPS system with you?"

That would have been a good idea, but he had a feeling that even the backup would have been water damaged as well. "No, I don't."

"Okay, I'm pulling up Google Earth right now. It's no GPS system, but it's going to have to do for now."

He was about to thank her profusely when she cut him off. "You can thank me when you come back, in person. And don't start going around calling me Watchtower either. This is a one-time thing."

He chuckled. "Okay, Map quest. Where am I?"

"You should start walking. You're in Varadero right now. You're about an hour's walk away from your location."

Oliver looked around him, and saw a car rental service in the distance. He smirked to himself. "Trust me, I have no intention of walking."

"Make sure you aren't recognized as an American. Cuba is crawling with government officials, and they don't like Americans too much."

"This isn't China", he reminded her. "I know Spanish pretty fluently."

"You don't know the Cuban dialect", she said. "They'll pick up on it. Please be careful."

"I promise. I'll keep you updated."

He hung up the phone, and walked across the street. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of bills. If there was one thing that he had learned from scouring the globe looking for Chloe, it was that money always kept people quiet.

He slapped the bills on the table, and watched as the manager's face lit up in surprise. He started speaking to Oliver in Spanish. Mia was right; the dialect was throwing him off. But only slightly.

The man asked if he wanted a large or a small car. Oliver responded by saying that he just wanted a fast car with a GPS system. The man nodded his head and opened up a drawer. He pulled out a set of keys and slid them across the table. Oliver grabbed them and followed him to a parking garage.

If the man picked up on his dialect, he didn't notify him of it. Which meant that either something was going to happen to him in the parking garage, or Oliver was in the clear. He followed the man carefully so that there wouldn't be a repeat of China. The man in China had taken him completely by surprise- he made a mistake then, but he wasn't going to let it happen twice.

The man pointed towards a car, and Oliver carefully walked behind him and over to the car. He unlocked the door, and got inside. Good, they drove on the right side of the road in Cuba.

He rested his duffel bag on the passenger's seat next to him, and took a look at the GPS system. He punched in the coordinates that he had memorized, and waited for the system to calculate a route. He checked the time. He should be able to get to his location by sundown. He nodded his thanks to the manager, and started the car.

The drive into the city wasn't too bad, and it wasn't as long as he thought it would be. The silence made Oliver more anxious than anything else. He had no idea what he was going to say to Chloe if he found her here, and he had no idea what he would say to a complete stranger if he didn't find her at the house.

How was he going to convince someone who was willing to erase a chunk of her memory that it wasn't worth it? Especially when she had gone through everything that she did? She had already sacrificed everything for the greater good, and had escaped to save her own humanity. How could he be selfish enough to ask her to drop everything for him again?

Yes, he had a promise to Lois to fulfill, but it had been a long time since he had checked in with her regarding anything at all. And he had made a decision to find Chloe before he even dropped by the apartment to talk to her cousin.

The truth of the matter was that he was selfish. Chloe had pulled him out of the gutter, and he repaid her by insulting her when she was just trying to come up with a backup plan. He didn't even know why the weapons had such an effect on him.

It was probably because if there was one thing that he knew, it was guilt. He didn't let people in his life very quickly. He was cordial to complete strangers, but he also kept people close to him at an arm's length.

Usually, whenever he let people in his life, he had control over how close they got to him. But Chloe- she just showed up at his penthouse one evening, saying that she knew his secret, and that he had to help get Bart and Clark out of a 33.1 facility.

He threw her a headset and told her that she was Watchtower, but it wasn't as if he had a choice in the matter. She was going to help them, and she was going to walk the team through the facility, and that was all there was to it.

She walked into his life quickly, and that was how fast he hopped on a plane to another 33.1 facility across the globe. She continued to work part time for him from Metropolis, but there was nothing too personal, nothing too face to face.

"Are you going to steal that generator or not?" her voice sounded in his head

When he discovered the truth about the death of his parents, he ran and drank. He country hopped. The whole point was to stop staying in one place for very long. But she caught him in between flights, and ordered him to steal a generator from Tess Mercer so that she could get Clark out of the Phantom Zone.

He knew that something was going wrong, but he did so anyway. And he was right- her eyes turned white while hacking into the generator, and she knocked him unconscious. She wasn't in control of her own body that day.

She gave him a sense of purpose that day, gave him a taste of what it was like to be a hero again. But he ignored it. She told him when he had crossed the line by killing Lex Luthor, and was there during Doomsday.

Chloe Sullivan forced her way into his life, to the point of saving his life. And to repay her, he insulted her and drove her out of town. Some friend he was.

"Approaching destination on the left", the GPS sounded. He slowed down, and parallel parked the car. He opened the car door, and walked up to the door.

He took a deep breath. It was now or never. He rang the doorbell twice, and waited with his hands in his pocket. If the resident here was Chloe, then she probably would slam the door in his face. She wouldn't invite him in, but thankfully he had his lock-pick with him. All he needed was a confirmation that it was her before breaking in.

The door opened to reveal a large Cuban man. A very intimidating Cuban man. But the man smiled at him politely, nonetheless. "Can I help you?" the man asked him in Spanish

"I'm looking for a short blond woman. I was wondering if you had any tenants", Oliver responded in Spanish.

The man smiled widely before opening the door fully. "Come in", he said.

Oliver walked inside, and the man gestured to the couch. He sat down. "She's upstairs. I'll go get her." He answered

"No, I can go upstairs", Oliver told the man in Spanish. If Chloe was really upstairs, then he wanted to see her as soon as possible.

"Patience", the man said. "You wait here. I'll get her."

Oliver nodded, and waited on the couch as the man climbed the stairs. He set his duffel bag on the floor.

He waited patiently for five minutes, and listened closely, but there was no sound. He could hear a man speaking, but there was no female voice replying. He couldn't hear a muffled voice, or even the indication of someone walking around.

He heard steps descending the stairs, but there was only one set of them. The man was alone. Chloe wasn't upstairs, she didn't even live here.

The man was on the phone with the Cuban police, and they were on their way here. They were going to take him away, and he had to get of here now.

"You know what?" he called out to the man in Spanish as he sat up from the couch and grabbed his bag. He made his way over to the door as softly as possible. "She has my telephone number, just tell her to call me."

He heard a siren in the distance. Okay, time to go. He opened the door, and ran over to the car, not bothering to shut the door behind him. He fished in his pocket for the car keys, and opened the door. He started the car, and started speeding down the road.

He had no idea where to go, so he just pressed the previous location button, and followed the instructions. It looked like he was headed back to the docks.

Chloe wasn't in Cuba. It was illegal, and was a stupid idea. He heard a siren blaring, and checked the rearview mirror.

…And now there were government officials following him. Great. He fiddled with the GPS system, and clicked fastest route. He had no idea how long these guys were going to follow him for. And he had no idea what he was going to do once he got to the docks. The car couldn't exactly drive on water.

He drove as fast as he could, and weaved in and out of lanes on his way to the docks. As he did so, more cars started following him. Great, so he had government officials and the Cuban police trying to arrest him at the same time. And he could see the docks near him.

He couldn't keep using the car- not with the crowd of people around the fish market. The people would slow him down, and the cars would find him. As he slowed down to a stop, the other cars did as well.

They seriously thought that he was going to turn himself in. Dare to dream.

He opened the door, and started running through the fish market with his duffel bag in tow. And they were running after him. The duffel bag was weighing him down, but it had his fingerprints all over it, not to mention the fact that his cell phone was inside. They would be able to identify him, and his face would be plastered all over international newspapers. His company would find out that he had done something illegally. Either get arrested or get publicly humiliated.

He chose neither. Oliver just ran faster, pushing people down to the ground if he had to. He apologized while he ran, but he had to escape these people. He pushed past the crowds, and made it to the water. There was nowhere else to go, and they were catching up fast. There were men working on their boats, not a single one was unattended. No motorboats, no paddleboats. Nothing. There was only one option here.

He jumped.

Oliver plunged into the water, and dropped his duffel bag before he shot up and started swimming freestyle as fast as he could. He was swimming absentmindedly now. He had lost his sense of direction a long time ago, and all he could see now was blue.

He tried to find a sense of direction, but the current was dragging him farther and farther away. He was fighting it so that he could think for a moment, to try and come up with some sort of plan, but he kept thinking that they were following him, that he would be caught.

He couldn't hear anybody. There was no yelling, and he couldn't hear a siren, but he still thought that he was being followed.

His arms were getting tired fast, and he was feeling more and more lost as he kept swimming. The farther he got, the more the current was starting to pull him under. But he couldn't even make his way back. He kept swimming, and tried to stay calm, but there was still probably someone after him, and he couldn't get caught. Getting caught wasn't an answer for him.

He kept swimming, and his motions got slower. The current pulled him down. His breathing started getting heavy. One more stroke. One more stroke.

His body was pulled downwards, but he tried to keep his head above the water. He tried to push himself up, but it was no use.

He was pulled down, his head below the surface. He held his arms up, and tried to kick his way up, but his muscles were tired. His chest was burning- he was running out of oxygen, and hope. And he kept falling.

He couldn't tell how far up the surface was. All he saw was light ahead of him, and eternal darkness beneath him.

Oliver Queen fell into the darkness.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

Oliver felt cold, very cold. He blinked a couple of times, and sat up. He looked around his surroundings. He was on top of a boulder, and he was still wet.

He didn't understand- he was drowning. He swore that he was drowning, but here he was, somewhere in the world, alive, and in some sort of cave.

A slew of questions swarmed his brain. What happened? Was he still in Cuba? If not, where in the world was he? Who saved him? And could he trust that person?

He let out a groan. How long was he out? Mia was going to kill him.

He could hear the sound of water falling freely somewhere in the distance. But it was the sudden splashing sound that alerted him. He tried to follow the sound of the splashing, when he realized that he couldn't get down there.

He was on a tower of rock, surrounded by water. And he had no idea how to get down, or out of there. He didn't know where he was, but he was being kept here. And even though whoever was keeping him here saved his life, he didn't want to stick around.

"I knew that you would try to run." A male voice said. "Don't. I'll be right up."

Wait a second, he knew that voice. A hand was suddenly on the edge of the tower, followed by an arm and then a face.

Arthur Curry had saved his life. And although Oliver was thankful, he was still suspicious.

"How did you find me?" he asked

"Right up to interrogation", AC said before nodding his head. "Okay. But since I'm the one who just saved your ass, I'll be asking the questions around here."

"Fine", Oliver agreed.

"First of all, have you completely lost your mind? What were you thinking, swimming out into the open sea like that, in Cuba of all places?"

He rolled his eyes. He would probably be hearing the same thing from Mia the second he got back. "You sound like Mia", he groaned.

"I don't know who Mia is, but she sounds like a reasonable person. You still didn't answer my question."

"Mia's a teenager that I've been helping out back in Metropolis. She's like a daughter to me." He explained

"I'd like to meet her one day." AC told him.

Even though AC sounded genuine, Oliver picked up the bitterness in his voice. "I stayed in Metropolis. You could have come back at any given time."

"I've been busy."

"We all have. I'm just as guilty for not knowing what you've been up to. And I'm sorry about that. I guess we're not as organized as we would like to be."

" We're not as organized as Chloe is", AC told him. "But at least we can all keep each other alive."

Oliver nodded. "Thank you for that."

"You saved my life once. You gave me a position on the team, so we'll never truly be even. But at least I was able to repay you."

Oliver was about to say something back to him, regarding how they didn't need to be even when his stomach acted first. He fell to his knees, and threw up over the cliff.

AC sat down next to him. "You swallowed a lot of water. And now that you're out and about, it all has to come out."

Oliver closed his eyes and shook his head twice. Great.

"You're lucky that it's just water you're throwing up. If your stomach couldn't handle food, then I would have to take you to a hospital and get someone to attach you to an IV drip. Hell, you're lucky to be alive."

"I'm lucky that you were in the area." Oliver corrected

"What were you doing in Cuba, anyway?"

His mind drifted to Chloe. He couldn't believe that he didn't find her in Cuba. He could have sworn that he was on to something there. But no, he was just being set up. And chased.

"Later", Oliver said. "Hey, how long ago did you find me?"

"It's been two days."

Great. He did the math in his head quickly before bringing his head over the cliff and puking again.

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 65

He brought his head up again. "Chloe", he said sharply. "She left Metropolis a couple of months ago. I've been looking for her nonstop. I was checking out a lead in Cuba."

"Why didn't you tell me?" AC asked

"I apparently have a problem with being a team player", he repeated Mia's words while rolling his eyes.

"We all have a problem with being team players, Oliver. That's kind of why we work well as a team. Do you know who took Chloe yet?"

"Nobody took Chloe", he muttered bitterly. "Chloe left Metropolis- felt like she was losing her sense of humanity as Watchtower."

AC nodded. "That would make sense."

"What do you mean, it would make sense?" he asked in disbelief

"The last time we were all in Metropolis, we were working on the plan to bring you back. Operation Roulette, I'm sure you remember it."

"I remember."

"Well, Chloe…she lost it a little bit."

"What do you mean, she lost it a little bit?" Oliver asked

"Here's what happened", AC started.

***Flashback***

AC walked in the Watchtower, feeling refreshed after a nice morning swim in Big Hill Lake. It wasn't the ocean, where everything was open and free, but it would do for the time being.

"Chloe?" he called out

There was no reply, but he knew that Chloe was there somewhere. She always was. The rest of the team might have gone somewhere, but she always stayed behind. She had been spending a lot of time in the central room, walking from computer to computer typing. He heard the clacking of her heels as she walked. She was still in there.

He followed the sound of her heels, and found her typing as usual. "There you are. What's new?"

She ignored him, and walked over to another computer on her left, and started typing. "Chloe?" he repeated

"I have to save him. There isn't time." She muttered

"I know. And we will." He told her earnestly

None of this seemed to register to Chloe, because she didn't look calm at all. She continued to type at the same pace.

AC stood side by side with her. "Okay, what do we have here?" he asked as he peered at the computer screen. "Why are you reading the tabloid? You don't read tabloids."

"They're my only way of finding him", she said distracted as she moved over to another room. "He got rid of the tracking device I had on him."

"You had one on him too? Chloe, I don't understand. What are you doing?"

She ignored him and walked over to the computer all the way to the right, pushing past him. He ran in front of her and grabbed her wrists. She immediately started to pull back. "Chloe, stop."

"He's not safe", she cried. "He's not safe from himself!"

"What happened?" AC asked gently

She blinked back her tears, and slid down the wall. He sat down in front of her.

***End Flashback***

"It took me an hour before she told me what happened. You went to a shareholder's meeting, and thought that there was a bomb on the pressure plate. Winslow Schott hacked into your earpiece and ordered you to tell the public the truth about Lex. She activated the fire alarms so that you didn't have to decide. But you did."

Oliver nodded silently. He had no idea how much his downward spiral had an effect on her.

"I kept trying to talk to her, but she wouldn't let me in. She didn't trust me. She didn't trust any of us- we all tried. She didn't tell anybody the full details of the plan until the night before. And when she told us, we all knew that it was a bad idea. I thought that you were going to get killed, that when I hit you with the truck, Impulse wouldn't get able to get to you in time. But it was something that she had to do, so we went along with it. We all had our doubts, Victor and Bart more than anybody. But we didn't say a word."

"It's my fault that she's gone. She bought an arsenal of Kryptonite weapons without telling me. I didn't know until Tess Mercer showed me the money missing from the company's funds."

"And you confronted her."

He nodded. "She disappeared within a day."

AC stood up. "Oliver, this is good."

He also stood up. "Chloe left to erase her memories. She wants to get rid of her memory of all of us. How is this good in any way?"

"You got to her." AC told him. "You showed her what she was doing to herself, to the degree of her wanting to start everything over. A rewind."

How could AC possibly think that this was a good thing? "I destroyed her." He said. "I didn't talk to her, I forced her out of the city!"

"No, you didn't. Chloe left of her own accord. It was her decision to leave, and she did because she felt lost, caught up in what was going on. You made her see what she was doing to herself, and she was overwhelmed. You didn't kick her out of the Watchtower, or make her feel like she didn't belong anywhere. This isn't your fault."

"That doesn't mean anything. If I had never confronted her in the first place, this wouldn't have happened."

"I'm not so sure."

Oliver gave him a confused look. "You're not?"

"I think that her leaving was inevitable. She would have left within the month whether there was a confrontation or not. You had to make sure that she was using your money wisely- you did the right thing, even if you were angry with her."

Why was AC being so…positive about all of this?

"So what do I do?"

"You do what you've been doing- you look for her until you find her. She'll come back if you find her. You have a connection with her that the rest of us don't have. You're the only one who can prevent her from erasing her memory, and you're the only one who can convince her to come back."

That's what he had been doing. And it nearly got him killed on multiple occasions. "As for your team player issues, you're going to have to learn to trust in your allies." AC told him "You have to trust before you can teach her to trust. That's how it goes. Keep that Mia kid around."

"It's not safe for her." Oliver said

"No, it isn't. But the least you can do is stop going places where she can't bail you out if needed. And keep me in the loop."

"AC, you swim around the world. You're as easy to track as a mega-mouth shark."

AC reached in his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. "Waterproof, water resistant, basically anti-water. I'll give you the number later."

"Is the battery charged on that thing?" Oliver asked

"Yeah"

"Mind if I borrow it to make a quick call?"

AC tossed him the cell phone, and he caught it. Oliver flipped it open, and dialed Mia's cell phone quickly.

Mia answered on the first ring. "Hello?"

"Hi", he said guiltily.

"Oliver, thank god. I haven't heard from you. Are you okay?" she asked quickly

"Mia, calm down. I'm fine. I got out of Cuba. I'll be back…soon."

"Good. I have class in five minutes, so I can't stay on the phone for very long. But you should go over to the Watchtower the second you get back. It picked up on something."

He raised an eyebrow. "What did it find?"

"I printed it out and taped it to your wall so that it would be safe. I think really think that you should see it for yourself."

"Okay, I'll call when I get back." He hung up.

"I should really get back. Where are we, anyway?" he asked AC

"We're in the Na Pali caves in Hawaii. It sounds like there's another clue waiting for you. Don't worry about calling your jet. I'll get you back."

"How are you going to do that?"

AC shrugged and jumped off the cliff. Oliver turned around and looked down as he came up the surface. "Come on down!" he called "There's a full body suit, and an oxygen tank with mask down here for you."

"No way." Oliver argued, "Give me your phone- I'll call my pilot and fly out of here, thanks."

"Isn't he going to wonder why you're here?"

He sighed, and climbed down the cliff slowly.

"What were you even doing in Cuba, anyway?" he asked AC as he climbed down

"Helping some people get back home. Now come on!"

He continued to climb,. The rocks were slippery, but he was able to make it down in no time. "I better not die."

"Trust me", AC assured him. "This is better than flying."


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 66

Oliver had been scuba diving before, but he had no idea how colorful the ocean was until now. The colors of different sea creatures blurred past him as AC pushed him forward.

To Oliver's dismay, the trip was over quickly. Dolphins who had greeted him had disappeared; colorful coral reefs flew past him before he could get a second glance. The next thing he knew, he has back at the penthouse grabbing a change of clothes and rubbing his dripping hair dry with a towel.

AC wrote out his cell phone number on a nearby slip of paper, and was waiting by the elevator when Oliver was ready.

"Better than flying, right?"

He nodded. "Much better."

"I guess you understand why I'm always out there now. Why I can't stay on land for long periods of time."

"It's freedom", Oliver answered.

AC shook his head. "It's much more than that. The fish accept me completely. I don't have to say anything to them- they automatically know what my purpose is and they respect that."

That certainty in his identity must be nice.

The man held out the slip of paper, and Oliver accepted it. "Not all humans are like that. You know that better than anyone. But we're on the same side. I know what your purpose is, and I will always respect that. You don't have to tell me the specifics of your methods. If you ever need me for anything, I'll be there."

He glanced at the slip of paper in his hand. "I have no intentions of swimming out into open waters again", he joked.

"I mean, if you need a friend. An open ear, anything. I'll be there."

And without another word, the elevator doors opened and AC stepped inside. Oliver gave him a curt nod before the doors closed again.

For a second there, he wasn't sure if he was going to make it. He thought that he was going to die in Cuba- with nobody in sight, how could he not?

But AC was there right when he needed him, and Oliver appreciated the helping hand. He opened a larger drawer, and pulled out a spare cell phone. He punched in AC's number before grabbing his leather jacket and heading out the door to Watchtower. There was a clue waiting for him.

Oliver opened the double doors of the Watchtower, and found Clark Kent tapping on one of the keyboards. "What happened?" he asked the man

"Why don't you tell me?" Clark asked

Oliver walked over to the screen and examined it closely. The kryptonite stockpile that he had relocated throughout the globe. How did Clark find it? What was going on, here?

"There are only three people who know my weakness", Clark continued. "And I know that if Tess created these weapons, Chloe wouldn't have kept it a secret from me for very long."

The weapons. No matter where he looked, or how far he tried to run from the topic, those goddamn weapons kept reappearing. He wanted nothing more than to forget about them and concentrate on finding Chloe- to make the idea of Kryptonite weapons disappear completely. But here they were.

"What are you going to do?" he asked hesitantly

"I'm going to destroy them." Clark answered

"Maybe that's not a good idea, Clark. What if something happens and we need them?" he asked

"These are weapons that can be used against me. Chloe should have known better. This can be used for murder."

"Chloe wanted to use these for self-preservation."

Clark ignored him. "I'm glad that she's gone. To think that I considered her one of my closest friends for all these years. If she knows what's good for her, she'll erase her mind. Become a human again"

Oliver felt his blood beginning to boil, but he decided not to raise his tone with Clark. There was something going on here, something was taking a hold of Clark and making him angry.

He remembered something that Chloe had said to him. "Red Kryptonite. Yes it comes in more than one color. Makes Clark lose his inhibitions completely. He becomes reckless, out of control."

This was Red Kryptonite. And for the life of him, Oliver couldn't figure out how to counteract it. He couldn't lose his temper, not now.

"Clark, listen to me. I know that you're angry right now, but after all these years, you can't seriously wish that upon her. After all the good she's helped you with?"

"Why are you defending her? What do you know?"

He put up both hands. "Chloe may have…used my money in order to purchase her stockpile without me knowing it."

"You're in on this too?" Clark asked

"I didn't help her create the weapons. I had no involvement with their creation in any way. She used my money. That's it."

"But you still knew about them." Clark said, forcing Oliver to back into a wall. "You knew about them and you never destroyed them. You never told me."

"She was trying to protect our race. I couldn't let her give up on that. You were raised here. You, of all people should understand."

But Clark didn't understand. His inhibitions were lost completely. Oliver didn't know what was going on in his head, but he did see only one thing- the need to inflict pain. And he couldn't avoid it.

Clark grabbed his neck and pushed him up against the wall with one hand. He started to close his hand around Oliver's throat.

"Clark…please…" he sputtered. "Don't…do this…"

But he wasn't listening. And there was no way that Oliver was going to die by the hands of Clark Kent. Not after China, not after Checkmate, and definitely not after AC had risked his life trying to save him.

"I'm...so sorry…Clark", he managed to get out before fumbling in his pocket.

Oliver had been keeping Lex's kryptonite ring in his jacket pocket in case the Kandorians ever got their powers. Or if Clark ever turned on him. He was hoping for the former. But some things can't be predicted.

He wrapped his finger around the ring in his pocket, before reaching out and punching Clark square in the jaw.

He hoped that the green Kryptonite would counteract the red. But it didn't seem as if there was enough in the small ring. Only enough to disarm.

Shocked, Clark released him and Oliver fell to the floor of the Watchtower. Clark wiped off the blood on his face before looking at him mercilessly. "You and Chloe betrayed me", he said simply before he turned his back on him and walked away.

"Chloe could never betray you, even if she tried", Oliver called after him. "She loved you, Clark!"

Clark super-sped out before he could get out another word.

"She loved you", he repeated.


	24. Chapter 24

Summary: After Chloe is found siphoning money from Oliver's company in order to purchase Kryptonite weapons, she realizes that she losing her sense of humanity. She decides that the only way to escape from who she is becoming is to erase her memories and start over. Oliver has 4 months to stop her before it's too late.

Spoilers: Up to Conspiracy, and then I write my own way.

POV: First chapter is Chloe-centric, and then Ollie-centric for the rest of the journey

A/N: I have a couple of things to say. First of all, I'm not going to apologize for the Kryptonite ring punch from the last chapter. And no, it's not uncharacteristic of Clark Kent- that scene is actually a modified scene from the Superman comic books. Just swap around Bruce Wayne and Oliver Queen. And yes, I know the background story between Batman being given a ring, as opposed to Oliver taking it. What I also know is that in the issue, Bruce apologized before punching Clark. He did it for self-preservation purposes only. And so did Oliver. As far as the hate mail is concerned, bring it. I don't really care that they've gone up from an average of 50/day to 200. Really couldn't care less. As long as there is one person who is willing to read this story because they genuinely want to, I'm going to keep going.

That's one generalization out of the way. Here's another that has should be addressed from the e-mails. The idea that Clois doesn't support Chlollie. Actually, they do. Lois said to Oliver in season 10 that she knew what Chloe felt for him, and that she would be back. And then, in Escape, she said that she thought it was great that her and Oliver were together. Clark didn't like the idea at first, but he warmed up to the idea. In fact, one of the main reasons as to why he wanted to tell Lois that he was the Blur back in season 9 was due to the following: "Look at you and Oliver, everything is out in the open." He wants the clarity and understanding that Chlollie has.

Another generalization that needs to be addressed: Mia and Oliver. I'm only going to say this once: There is nothing going on between Mia and Oliver. I'm not going to continuously write, "Mia's like a daughter to me", guys.

Now that the anger is out of the way, here's some good/positive news. I'm going to write two companion pieces to this story. I can't give you any titles right now, and I won't tell you the second one (too many spoilers. You'll understand later), but what I can tell you is that one of the companion pieces is going to consist of this entire story from Mia's point of view. I think that it'll give a bit more clarity as far as her progression as a character is concerned. I don't know how long it's going to be (just like I don't know how long this story is going to be).

For the people who read Queen, do know that a sequel is on the way. I'm not sure if I'm going to write a sequel for this story, we'll see how that goes. But the sequel for Queen isn't going to be started for a while. When it does, you might want to reread Queen. To brush up.

As far as Survival is concerned (question: does anyone read that story anymore?), I will finish it. I'm going to work on it fully when Erase is done. I know that it's been a while, but I've been busy! Not sure if I'm going to write it between Erase and the first companion piece, but it will definitely be finished before I work on Queen's sequel.

And, here's the Twenty-Fourth chapter of Erase:

Chapter Twenty-Four

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 66.5

Oliver was still on the floor, trying to process what had just happened. He wanted to tell himself that Clark didn't mean a word of what he said, but he knew that the kryptonite only removed his inhibitions. It didn't change his thoughts, only removed the filter.

The words were still echoing in Oliver's head. "If she knows what's good for her, she'll erase her mind. Become a human again."

This was what Clark really thought of Chloe and her disappearance. And for some reason, that concerned him more than the pain in his chest every time he took a breath.

The double doors opened, and Mia walked in. She was staring at her cell phone as she walked in and called out, "How much do you love me right now?"

Oliver stared at her in confusion before she looked up from the screen and froze. "What happened? Are you okay?" she asked, rushing over to him

She held out a hand and he took it before she pulled him up. She wrapped her arms around him silently before releasing him and stepping back. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

She scoffed. "Anytime you're going to stop lying to me, Oliver?"

What was she talking about? He looked around the Watchtower. There were papers scattered all over the floor, and a wall contained Clark's branded kryptonian symbol.

"I would prefer not to get into it."

She nodded. He could see her eyes flashing from him to the brand on the wall. "How was Cuba?" she asked

"Another dead lead."

"Did you check out the live one that Watchtower picked up on?"

He shook his head. With everything that had gone on with Clark, he completely forgot. "So, I get to see your reaction. Awesome. Let's go."

He felt her eyes on him as he opened up the Wall. So, the wall had become more of a Chloe room. Even the ceiling was covered with paper. But this was all his creation, and Oliver was able to spot a change to his left almost immediately.

"You have a location on him?"

"Not at first", Mia said as she stepped into the room. "Everything came up blank, just like all of the others."

He gently removed the paper from the wall. "So, where did this come from?"

"I was worried about you, so I waited around here. I fell asleep, and when I woke up it was there."

"Mia, if you did something that could track down the others…"

"Oliver, I didn't do anything. That's the truth."

And he believed her. "Okay. I guess I'll pack my bags, and head out tomorrow morning. Thanks for showing me this."

He stepped out of the room, and Mia ran to get in front of him. "I'm not leaving."

He stopped walking, and looked at her. "I'm not kicking you out, Mia."

"Good." She gave his arm a tug, and directed him towards the couch. He took the hint and sat down as he waited for her to sit across from him. "Tell me about Cuba, Oliver", she said softly. "What happened?"

He closed his eyes for a moment. And that's when he saw it all.

***Flash***

He was running through the fish market, pushing a man in his way down to the floor. "I'm sorry", he called over his shoulder in Spanish. There was no time- the crowd of Cuban government officials were chasing him. Some were trying to gun him down. Oliver had a gun with him, but it was in the duffel bag. If he were distracted, even for a moment, it would all be over.

***Flash***

The man smiled widely before opening the door fully. "Come in", he said.

This was it. Oliver had finally found her.

***Flash***

He heard a siren in the distance. Okay, time to go.

***Flash***

His lungs were burning, and he was doing everything that he could to force his eyes open. All he could see was darkness, all darkness.

***Flash***

He could barely hear the voice as it spoke. "Oliver, listen to my voice. Hold on, okay? You're going to be fine."

He wished that he could say something back, but he couldn't. He couldn't say a word.

***End Flash***

He opened his eyes, and saw Mia looking over him. "Hey, are you okay? You spaced out for a second."

"Fine", he said softly.

"What happened to you?" she whispered

"I thought I found her, but it was just a trap."

"You were almost arrested?" He nodded. "How did you get away?" she asked

He stared off into space. He didn't want to go into details right now. A near-death experience did tell him one thing- that he didn't want to just hop on his jet and risk another one. At least, not right now. But he had no choice in the matter.

"I get it."

His head shot back over to her direction.

"It's okay if you don't want to leave right away, Oliver. Take a couple of days to bounce back."

But that was impossible. It had already been two months. He had a solid lead now. He had to follow it.

"I can't." he said sadly "I'm on a time crunch."

"You don't know if he's even going to be able to help you."

"See, that's where you're wrong", he said before standing up and walking over to a nearby computer and typing. He pulled up multiple articles from the Torch. "Look over here", he pointed to an article before pulling up another article. "And over here. He's always there, Mia. He knows the truth, I'm sure of it."

"That was years ago. He could have moved on."

"You don't move on after learning a secret like that, I guarantee you, Mia. Pete Ross is out there, and he knows Clark's secret."

"I don't understand how he's going to help us track down Chloe."

"I don't need him to track down Chloe. I need him to help me to crack this code. If he knows how to keep himself off of the grid, then he knows how to put himself back on. Watchtower picked up on his activity on purpose. It wasn't an accident, or a fluke. He knows that someone's looking for him, and he's finally ready to talk."

"Or he cleaned up whatever mess he was in, and he's ready to tell you to go to hell."

"I'll get him to talk."

"How are you going to do that?"

Oliver walked to the other side of the room, and started typing at one of the computers. "Because I did some research on him. Look at this date here", he said as he pointed to the screen.

He watches as she walked over to the screen, and studied it closely. "This is when he started becoming more active in everything that Clark was doing. He's on scene for every article on the meteor-infected, right by his side."

He started typing again, and didn't stop until four more windows popped up. "Look here. Nothing. He disappears completely."

"So?"

"So, there's an article that I read in the binder. I think I can find the electronic copy, just give me a second."

"What does it say?" Mia asked

"It was a farewell article. Chloe wrote it to wish him well during all of his future endeavors. He left Smallville High." He said as he typed. "And…there it is."

"Why did he leave?"

"The article doesn't say."

"Why do you think he left?" she asked

"Check out the dates: October 8, 2002 and May 12, 2004. That was back when Chloe was in high school. As far as I know, either Pete was the only person other than family who knew about Clark, or it was just he and Chloe. It wouldn't have made sense for him to leave if Chloe knew too. Especially after this article."

He pulled up the humor piece on Clark Kent. "Chloe wrote a sarcastic, humorous piece on how Clark can hear so well. He pawned it off on not going to too many Linkin Park concerts, but I'm thinking that he was covering for his super-hearing."

"So, you think that Pete was the only one who knew about Clark."

He nodded. "And I'm thinking that he left because keeping his secret was too much to handle. Because he wanted to start over."

"Just like Chloe."

"Exactly."


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 67

Oliver rang the doorbell. It was 6 o'clock, and he had spent the majority of the day packing and travelling. But he was finally here in Border, Colorado. And he had every intention of meeting Pete Ross.

The door opened, and a man greeted him. "Are you Pete Ross?" Oliver asked

"Who's asking?" The man looked him up and down.

"My name is"

"-I know who you are. What I want to know is what you want with me."

What did he ever do to this man?

"It's a bit of a long story. May I come inside?" he asked politely

"I don't usually invite strangers inside of my home." Pete gestured to the chairs on his porch. "Have a seat. I'll be with you in a moment."

Oliver nodded, and the door shut in his face. He sat down on one of the chairs and waited until the door opened again, and Pete walked out, shutting the door behind him.

"Oliver Queen", Pete started as he sat down. "What brings you to my front step?"

"I'm looking for some answers. Answers that I believe only you can give."

"I've come across your type before. What makes you think that I would tell you anything?"

"Because the two of us are keeping the secret of a very different man. I'm sure you remember Clark Kent."

"What about Clark? Is he in any trouble?"

Immediate jump to his rescue. Oliver admired this man's loyalty. "I wish it were that simple."

"Then, why don't you explain it to me?"

"I'm looking for Chloe. She decided to wipe herself from the face of the Earth. To cut this part of the long story short, she found herself keeping too many secrets. She felt that it was too much, and decided to move somewhere and start over."

"Chloe sucks at keeping in touch. I haven't spoken to her in the past year."

"She put everyone in her life off of the grid too. Her family members, her old friends, you. She wanted to keep you all safe. But a couple of days ago, you were put back on the grid. If you were able to deactivate something, or hack into something, I have to know what you did."

"I didn't do anything. But I can tell you one thing about Chloe- she's the strongest person I know. She ran a newspaper almost single-handedly in high school. And regardless of what was on her plate, stories still printed regularly."

"I know", Oliver said. "I've read them all. Every Torch story and every article that she wrote for the Daily Planet."

"Then you know as well as I do that if she can't handle something, then nobody else can."

He was starting to get angry now. He didn't put an unbearable work load on Chloe's plate- she created more work for herself to stay in the Watchtower.

"She can handle everything just fine", Oliver told him. "And you can stop feeling for the gun in your pocket. I'm not Lex Luthor, and I don't plan on manipulating you."

Pete stopped fumbling in his pocket. "What is it exactly, that you know about Clark?"

"Everything. I know about his Kryptonian heritage, his powers, and his weaknesses. I stole a generator at some point so that Chloe could bust him out of the Phantom Zone."

"Why would Clark trust a billionaire with his secrets?"

"He wouldn't. Not unless I had one of my own for him to keep."

"What's your power?" Pete asked immediately

"It's not like that. I'm human. I don't have any meteor infection. I, uh…"

"Hey, if I can keep Clark's secret for all these years, then I think I can keep yours too." Pete insisted

That was when Oliver realized something- he was afraid that what happened to Pete and Chloe would happen to him. That in time, he would lose himself to the degree of leaving. And after everything that he had been through, he couldn't afford to get lost again. He wouldn't be able to make it out.

"You see, that's what I'm trying to understand. You left Smallville after a couple of years, and Chloe left a couple of months ago. I've known for 3 years. You didn't jet out right away. Why did you leave?"

"I don't know about Chloe, but I'll tell you something. Helping Clark take down whatever meteor-infected bad guy is a great feeling. But it takes priority over everything."

But he understood all of that. He was willing to give up everything for justice. And he was willing to bet that Chloe was too.

"Nothing else becomes important anymore. You have no idea how many times I almost dropped out of college because school just didn't seem relevant." Pete continued

"But you didn't?" he asked

"No. Because right when I'm about to, I realize that I don't have special abilities. I can't change the world in the same way that Clark can. I've been trying for years to walk in his footsteps, but I just can't."

"You don't need to have special abilities in order to change the world", Oliver assured him. "I don't."

"Yeah, and I still don't know what it is that you do. We all have our secrets- I understand."

There was silence for a moment, and then Oliver decided to break the ice. "Did you and Chloe ever…?"

Pete laughed out loud. "No, we never dated. That's another thing that comes with the territory of being around Clark all the time. He overshadowed any of my accomplishments. Chloe was so wrapped up in the Torch and in getting Clark to notice her that she never saw what was right in front of her. And she was always overshadowed by Lana."

"But Clark gave her a chance once, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he did. But there was a freak storm that night. There were a couple of twisters that combined to form one giant tornado, and Lana was out on the road. He left Chloe alone on the dance floor to save her."

Oliver nodded. So, that's what happened. It made sense. But he was still concerned with Chloe's family being off the grid.

"So, you have no idea what put you on the grid?"

Pete shook his head. "I don't. Sorry, man. I wish I could help you."

"So, what is it that you do anyway?"

Pete smiled widely. "I'm a social worker. But at night? I work for the National Federation of the Blind. One of the major offices is here. It's not the same as stopping burglaries, but I do what I can."

Oliver recognized a slight disappointment in the man's facial features. Pete may not have been a part of the team, but he was doing the best he could. Oliver wished that there were more people like him in the world.

"Pete, are you happy with what you do?" he asked

"I like to think so."

"Then, that's all that matters", Oliver told him. "Don't worry about having abilities- you don't need them to make a difference."

Pete nodded. "You're a good guy, Oliver. I wish I could help you, man. I really do."

He stood up. "Don't worry about it. It was nice to meet you."

He walked away from the porch, and was about to unlock the car that he had rented when he heard his name being called. He turned around.

"Sorry about the gun", Pete said. "I guess going to high school with Lex around gave me an unfair opinion about billionaires."

He understood Pete's prejudice. He was that spoiled kid, a long time ago when the death of his parents was still fresh. Duncan Allenmeyer paid for it with his life, and that was something that Oliver would never be able to fix.

"Your opinion of me wasn't wrong. I was that guy once. I even bullied Lex in prep school. At least you didn't do that."

"If I could have, I would have." Pete told him

"Doesn't make it right."

"Yeah, but you grew. Into a better person than Lex ever was."

"I like to think so", Oliver repeated Pete's words.

"Look, I have no idea where Chloe is. But I do know where you can find her dad."

Her dad was also off of the grid. He smiled. "You do?"


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 68

He decided to head back to the Watchtower after Pete wrote down Gabe Sullivan's address. This was Chloe's Dad, and Oliver didn't want to just break and enter without good reason. He wanted to make sure that it was absolutely necessary before going there.

He also wanted to check and see if Watchtower picked up on something new., if someone else was revealed. Pete Ross wasn't responsible for being back on the grid- years of experience with his company's board taught him whether or not somebody was lying to him. Which meant that someone put him there, and Oliver wanted to know who that was.

He pushed open the double doors of the Watchtower, and walked straight to the computers. He stopped in his track when he saw Mia lying there on the couch, with her uniform on.

He rushed over to her, and rolled her over so that he could examine her properly. "Mia", he whispered, shaking her gently.

He removed the cape to see if she was injured in any way. Sure enough, he saw that her arm was wrapped in gauze. Oliver unwrapped it slowly, and saw a long cut down it. It wasn't too deep. Didn't look fatal.

He shook her again, with more violence. "Hey, Speedy."

Her eyes opened, and she sat up. "Oliver? What are you doing back? I thought you were visiting Pete Ross."

"Came back to check on things", he said before sitting down beside her. "What happened to you?"

"I fell asleep after patrol. No big deal", she shrugged.

He lifted up her arm. "You're hurt."

"It's nothing", she said, rubbing her arm gently before getting up from the couch and walking towards the kitchen.

He got up and followed her. "Mia, it's not nothing."

He watched as she pulled a glass out of the cabinet and filled it with water. "Honestly, it's no big deal. Hell, you should have seen the other guy", she told him before taking a sip.

Why wasn't she more shaken about this? He remembered his first wound from patrol- he was so nervous about it that he was afraid to go back out again. Mia wasn't traumatized in the slightest. "This isn't the first time you've been injured on patrol, is it?" he asked her

She shook her head before taking another drink.

"Why didn't you come to me about it before?" he asked

"Please", she scoffed. Like you don't have your own battle wounds."

"That's not the point."

She rested the glass on the table. "Yes it is. You don't tell me about yours, I don't tell you about mine. Everyone's happy."

He didn't want to go into details about the torturing or the beating. He didn't want her to know that he had been chased in Cuba, or that he almost drowned. It would scare her, make her more terrified of him leaving than she already was. But he didn't want to come back to Metropolis one day and find out that she was dead.

"I worry about you, kid. I want to know what's going on."

She let out a laugh, and Oliver felt the pit in his stomach sink even deeper. "So, I'm supposed to tell you everything, but you don't want to tell me more than what I need to know? That's convenient for you. You get all the answers, and I get none. You can't have it both ways, Oliver."

He was silent for a moment, and she seemed to take that as permission to continue. "And don't you dare say that I owe you. You trained me because you genuinely wanted to. I do the target practice on my own, not to mention the yoga and kickboxing. And don't you bring up the fact that you're paying for my education, because if that's a problem? Let me know right now, and I'll start applying for scholarships. I don't owe you a thing."

She let out a deep breath, and stared at him. But he wasn't listening. Her words were echoing in his head. "You can't have it both ways, Oliver."

He was starting to get dizzy as the memories flashed before his eyes. He grasped the kitchen counter for support as they came to him, one after the other.

***Flash***

He wanted to get as close to her as physically possible. Because, that would mean that she would be honest with him, instead of blocking him out, or lying.

"I like where this is going, Romeo, but you might want to put on some softer music", she said softly, reaching over to kiss him.

"It's not a booty-call", he said right before she came into contact with him. God, he hoped she had a good explanation for this.

***Flash***

"I'm worried about your identity. What we do out there every night is a huge part of who we are. You taught me that. And I'm worried that you're mixing up her identity with your own", Mia told him

***Flash***

"Don't do this."

"What? " he asked, confused. "What am I doing? What's the matter?"

"You're making things strictly about business. Nothing personal. Just like she did."

***Flash***

"Well, I'm sorry I want to keep you all alive."

"Don't be. Be sorry that you can't trust anybody, and that you're becoming paranoid. Be sorry that you can't rely on anybody anymore!"

***Flash***

AC's voice started echoing in his head. "Well, Chloe…she lost it a little bit."

***Flash***

"You have to trust before you can teach her to trust."

***Flash***

"Are you keeping me in the dark because I lied to you?" Chloe asked, shaking her head

"Well you know, Chloe. You can't have a set of rules for yourself and then a whole other set of rules for everyone else."

***End Flash***

He was becoming the very person that he was trying to save. He knew that this would happen, but he didn't make an escape route for himself. He was losing grip on the table, and of what was right and wrong.

He let go of the table, and fell to his knees. He heard Mia call his name before bending down to help him. He grabbed onto her shoulder. His vision was blurring fast. "Mia. Help me." He managed to say before blacking out.

Help me.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Oliver found himself standing behind some sort of corner. What happened? Where the hell was he? He turned around and saw the sign. Isis Foundation.

He heard voices in the distance. Had somebody started to use Isis for their own personal uses these days? He stepped out to confront the intruders when he froze in place.

He saw himself. And he saw Chloe. Somehow, he was in the past.

"Oliver, you've really crossed a line, here", she told him.

And then everything slowed down, until it stopped completely. Who did that? He walked up to himself, and waved his hand around. There was no reaction. He was about to make his way over to Chloe when a voice stopped him.

"She's right, Oliver."

He turned around. "John? What happened? What are you doing?"

I'm showing you what you have become. How you got to this point. Your memories are the best example of this."

But the Martian Manhunter wasn't happy to see him. There was sadness in his eyes. "What happened to me?" he asked

"Oliver, when was the last time you ate or rested?"

He blinked. He couldn't remember for the life of him. There was just so much that happened. It wouldn't have been since the night before he left for Cuba, could it? No way.

"You blacked out in the Watchtower due to sleep deprivation and malnourishment."

"Okay, that explains it. But what it doesn't explain is why you're here with me."

"I'm here to help you."

And Oliver believed him. That didn't mean that he wasn't concerned about his health. "Will you wake me up when we're done?"

The martian nodded. "This isn't going to be an easy process for you, Oliver."

"Well, things haven't exactly been easy for me lately."

"I know." Oh. Telepathy. Right. That was probably how he got here too. "Shall we?"

He looked at John awkwardly. "Do I grab your arm or hold your hand? Something like that?"

"No need." John's eyes turned red.

***Flash***

They were at the bottom of a staircase. Oliver gripped the railing for support before standing upright.

"This is where it first started", John said.

He looked around. Black Creek? Is that where he was?

"Where what started?"

"Where you started to doubt yourself." John pointed. "Look there."

Oliver looked up. His past self had an arrow aimed at Clark. He released the arrow before speaking.

Oh no, he was about to kill Clark. Oliver made the motion to run over to Clark, when John gripped his shoulder, stopping him. "You cannot stop it. You can only learn from what has happened."

He nodded, and watched. He exhaled sharply as the arrow struck Clark. A fatal blow. He watched himself run over to him.

"This is where you started losing faith in yourself. Regardless of the training of your own beliefs, you allowed yourself to be controlled. You fought it, but it didn't help. You still killed him."

"So?"

Before John could respond, Chloe started going down the stairs. Chloe.

He ran over to her, and tried to stop her. Tried to apologize. "Chloe, wait." He put a hand in front of her.

But she wasn't listening. She just went right through him. He turned around. "Chloe?"

"I can save him", she said, determined. "Oliver, move back! I can save him."

Oliver kept standing at the bottom of the stairs. He crossed his arms and looked down. "I killed him, John. It was my fault."

John shook his head. "It was the serum. You have to accept that."

Sure, anything to get out of here. "Okay. Can we go?"

"No, but we can skip ahead a little bit."

***Flash***

Oliver was at the bottom of the spiraling staircase at Watchtower. Except the place was empty. Not a single computer in sight. He watched himself open the double doors. Bart and Dinah were behind him.

They were all pretty beaten up. He saw a trail of blood. Doomsday. No.

"Take me back", he said to John. "Now!"

John shook his head. "You need to see this."

"Why?" He demanded. "I've alerady lived this. It took me a long time to get out of it. I don't need to see this again!"

"Just watch."

"Chloe, what happened?" he heard himself ask

Oliver watched as she cried over Jimmy Olsen's dead body. Davis' body was across the room. She was covered in blood. "They", she sniffed, "killed each other."

"This is when you stopped trusting people."

"What?" he asked, taking his eyes off of Chloe

"You're a man of logic and reason. You organize missions and execute them flawlessly. This was the first time something didn't go exactly as planned."

"Yeah, that's an understatement."

"You did not kill him, Oliver."

That was when he realized- with the exception of the day before she left, he never brought him up. The issue was only buried, left behind with the alcohol and his old burned gear.

He watched as his past self wordless sat down and took Chloe into his arms. Bart sped the body out, before he and Dinah followed suit. Chloe was still shaking as she cried.

"Oliver", John stood in front of him. "This wasn't your fault, and it wasn't anybody else's."

"I pushed ahead with the plan", he admitted. "I brought Jimmy into this whole thing."

"Jimmy made himself involved. You couldn't have stopped it. It was his purpose."

"How can you say that?" he asked in disbelief "How can you say that he was meant to die at such a young age?"

"Because out of everything that could have gone wrong that day, Jimmy died. Everybody else escaped unharmed. Jimmy wasn't underground. He was right here. You didn't put him in the line of danger."

"That might work on Clark, but it won't work on me", Oliver told him. "Clark, who always saw the good in people. I knew better. And what did I do? I put Jimmy's blood on everybody's hands."

"And that's why you can't let anybody in."

"I'm keeping them all safe by not involving them in all of this."

"But you're endangering yourself."

***Flash***

They were suddenly floating in the air as he watched himself slowly drowning in Cuba.

"And they still come to your rescue", John said as AC sped in and out of the water.

***Flash***

"Even if you don't want them there."

Mia stormed into the elevator that they were in. The penthouse? He watched as she took a deep breath before turning around.

"Do me a favor? I don't care how beaten up you get, because you won't tell me about it. But you come back alive, you hear me? You come back alive so I can kick your ass later."

Time stopped again. "What do you gain from showing me all of this?" Oliver asked

"Let me show you one of my memories."

***Flash***

They were suddenly at Watchtower again. Except this time, it had its usual computers. They were watching near the double doors.

"Just watch", John told Oliver.

Chloe was tidying up the place, moving one of the monitors where it belonged when John sped in.

"Clark, you know, those are some real party animals you have as friends." She turned around to see him. "Ah, if it isn't my favorite Martian", she said, greeting him. "Looks like you're enjoying the return of your powers."

"At a cost", he answered. "Dr. Fate's final act was to restore my martian abilities instead of saving his own life."

"What happens to the helmet now?" she asked

"According to Hawkman, someone worthy will be drawn to it. They'll become the next Dr. Fate."

"What's next for you?"

He smiled. "My time as a detective has allowed me to protect humans on a very personal and individual level. I've enjoyed that. So I will continue to protect and serve, using every tool I've got."

Chloe nodded. "Me too", she said as she walked over to a monitor.

"Dr. Fate was inundated with a constant flow of visions and information. But there is a limit to how much knowledge someone can have. It drove him to the edge of sanity. And he fell off. I don't need my telepathy to know you run that risk yourself."

"A golden helmet possessed by ancient spirits and Watchtower are two entirely different things. I can handle it." She assured him

John touched her hand. "I only say because I care. You and Clark. Oliver. You're my family here."

The doors opened, and Oliver watched himself walk in. He remembered this part. It was a happy moment. But he wasn't meant to see it.

***Flash***

They were back at the Isis Foundation, except it was empty this time. "I thought that it would be Chloe", John said, shaking his head. "I never saw the signs in you, Oliver. And for that, I am sorry."

"John, I'm fine. There's nothing to be worried about."

"We both know that isn't true."

And then his eyes turned red again.

***Flash***

They were at the Watchtower.

He watched himself yank the keyboard out of the computer and throw it on the desk again and again.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" he yelled with each consecutive strike

The keyboard was breaking into individual pieces, but he didn't seem to care. He threw the last piece on the wall, and sat down at Chloe's desk, cradling his head in his hands.

"Does that seem fine to you?" John asked

Oliver shook his head.

Time stopped again.

"What do you want me to do, John?", he asked, frustrated. "Stop looking for her? I can't do that. I don't even know how much time I've wasted just going through these memories!"

"You're driven. And I don't want to discourage that. But there comes a time for reinforcements."

"I don't want to bug anyone."

"You won't. And I'm not saying that you have to now. But when the time is right, you're going to need help. Right now, I want you to trust."

"Mia."

John nodded. "Confide in her. Now, it's time to return."

He gave Oliver a sharp slap on the back, and he felt himself losing consciousness once more.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Beep. Beep. Beep.

What was that? He opened his eyes slowly and waited a couple of seconds, as the blurry view of the Watchtower became clearer and clearer.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

He tilted his head in the direction of the beeping noise. Heart monitor. He gave himself a quick look over, his eyes widening when he saw the needle in his arm.

Great. "An IV. How refreshing", he said to himself before letting out a breath.

A figure leapt up from the foot of the bed. Mia. He hadn't noticed her there.

"Oliver?"

He smiled weakly. "Hey."

She shot out of her seat and rushed over to him. "Are you okay?" she asked immediately

He heard John's voice in his head.

"Dr. Fate was inundated with a constant flow of visions and information. But there is a limit to how much knowledge someone can have. It drove him to the edge of sanity. And he fell off. I don't need my telepathy to know you run that risk yourself."

He looked at Mia as he heard his voice again. "Confide in her."

He opened his mouth when she suddenly spoke again. "You're attached to an IV drip. Sorry, stupid question. Look, I'm going to go get Dr. Hamilton to check on you, okay?"

She turned around to leave, but Oliver knew that he had to talk to her now, before something in his body kick started and blocked her out again.

"They tortured me", he said quickly.

She froze in place and turned around. "What?" she asked softly

"Checkmate. They kidnapped me in the middle of patrol and took me to this huge place where headquarters were. There were a group of them bordering the room. They've painted their own picture of heroes. They don't like the secrets."

She dragged her chair closer to him before sitting down. She didn't say a word, and he took this as a cue to continue.

"I almost gave up on her that day. I thought that you were right- there's a chance that I won't even find her in time."

"It's a possibility, Oliver. Nothing's definitive at this point."

He nodded. "I've been avoiding the possibility. "

"I know, and that's okay. I just…couldn't let you be blind to it."

"I know. Thank you."

There was silence for a moment before Mia broke it. "Oliver, if you don't mind me asking", she started.

"Go for it", he answered immediately.

"What happened in Cuba?"

He took a deep breath. He didn't want to mentally scar her, and he didn't want to relive the memory. But he had to.

"I went to the location on the GPS, and there was this Cuban man living at the house. He told me that Chloe was living there, and invited me in. I waited for her to come downstairs when I realized that the man was calling the government officials, and that is was all a trap."

"You made a run for it."

"And a drive for it. They followed me."

"Did they back off?" she asked

He shook his head. "Their numbers only grew. And since I don't know Cuba like I do Star City or Metropolis, I could only go back to the docks. I pulled over at a nearby fish market, and they ran after me."

She nodded. "How did you get away?"

"I jumped out into the open sea and started swimming. A bad decision, considering how strong the current was. I almost drowned. I blacked out, and AC saved me."

"You almost drowned."

He nodded.

"And AC saved you."

He nodded again.

"And Checkmate. They tortured you."

He nodded.

She took a deep breath. "I'm HIV positive."

"What?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

He had so many questions, but he didn't want to attack her with them. So he only asked one. "How long have you known?"

"A day."

Wait, how long did his trip down memory lane with John take? "How long was I out?"

"6"

He winced as he did the mental math. Damn it.

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 74

"Before you say anything else, Oliver, I'm not going to stop patrolling. Dr. Hamilton told me that the physical activity of patrolling could actually keep me healthy. Strange as that may sound."

He couldn't help but think that if he had gotten him off of the streets sooner, this wouldn't have happened to her.

"And you can stop blaming yourself right about now, too."

He looked up at her. Mia really knew him, didn't she? Just like Chloe did.

"I'm going to get a team of scientists to work on a cure", he promised her.

"Not necessary. HIV not AIDS. I'm perfectly healthy. It could be years before it develops." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small bottle of pills. "One of these every morning, and training. That's all I need. Don't worry about me Oliver. I'm going to be okay."

"Kid, it's in my nature to worry about you. Can't help it." He told her before straightening up.

"Hey, what happened when you visited Pete Ross?" Mia asked

She was obviously trying to distract him, to change the subject. So he would take the bait.

It seemed like ages since he had visited Chloe's old friend, but Oliver didn't forget about the address that he was given. "Well, he almost shot me", he started, chuckling at the memory of Pete holding the gun in his pocket.

He saw the confused look on Mia's face. "Lex Luthor was in his life during high school. He doesn't like billionaires too much," he explained. "Just like somebody else I know", he added, remembering Mia's distrust when they first met.

"Another dead end, then?"

"Actually, no. He gave me the address for Chloe's dad. And I'm pretty sure that I can trust Pete."

"I'll go get Emil to check on you, and then we can go." She started to get up from the chair.

But he couldn't let Mia go with him. She was the one person other than Chloe who could help him out of this hole that he had buried for himself. If she fell in too, then everything would be lost.

"Mia, no. You can't come with me."

She sat back down. "Are you kidding? After everything that you just told me, you think that I'm going to just let you go through it all again?"

"You have to."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "And why is that, may I ask?"

He sighed. "You're a part of the team. Unofficially. You haven't met any of the other members, but you've earned that right."

"So?"

"I haven't involved the rest of them. Haven't you wondered why I never made a motion to track them all down?" He asked

"Well, I figured that it's because of the time-crunch."

"I'm trying to protect you all!" he exclaimed "Why else do you think I'm doing all of this alone? I'm pretty sure that they're all doing okay. When I met Victor, he was about to kill himself. Look at him now- he's in China, running his own operation. AC? I found him dying along a port, and now he's helping people out in Cuba. He's all by himself, but he's doing okay. I found Bart stealing food in the middle of Star City, and now, wherever he is, he will always have a full stomach. Dinah was working for Lex when I met her- she nearly killed me and Chloe both, but now she's working for the good guys. I have to make sure that you all stay okay, and that means not involving you in this."

"I want to be involved."

Stubborn, stubborn girl. Why wasn't she listening? Why did he even involve her in this to begin with? She was only seventeen years old.

"You're already too involved. Any second, Checkmate is going to piece you guys to me. You especially- you still live in Metropolis, and you're covering patrol for me. It would be so easy for them to capture you, Mia. Almost too easy."

"That's a risk that I'm willing to take."

"But you shouldn't. I'm in my thirties- I'll continue this gig as the Green Arrow for what? Another ten years before my reflexes slow down and I'm mortally wounded?"

He felt her put a hand to his shoulder. "You are not going to become like Vortigan."

The mentioning of his mentor always made him afraid of what he might become. He took a deep breath, and nodded. "I know. And what I also know is that you're not meant to help me with this. You're young- you will lead the next generation of heroes, Mia. You aren't meant to die because of my own mission."

There was silence for a couple of minutes before Mia took his hand in hers. "Okay. I'll stay here and make sure that things run smoothly in the city. But you're going to have to tell me everything from now on. No more secrets. You let me in on everything."

He separated moved their hands so it looked like he was giving her a handshake. "Deal."

"I'm going to get Emil now."

He nodded, and she got up. "Hey" he called out.

She turned around.

"See what you can do about this thing in my arm. It's kind of creeping me out."

She let out a laugh. "I'll do what I can."


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 75

"I don't know about this, Mia", Oliver said as he got out of the car.

"That's great- the one solid lead that you have, and you're not sure", he heard her say on the phone.

"You seriously think that I should just storm into the home of Chloe's father and demand answers?"

"You had no problem getting into Cuba."

He let out a small laugh as he leaned on his car. "Yeah, and look at how great that plan ended up."

"Oliver, you drove to Grandville for a purpose. Stop questioning it now."

"He has a history with Lex and Lionel", he reminded her. "This is going to be like Pete Ross all over again."

"If that's the worst case scenario, that's pretty good, don't you think? All you have to do is convince him to not shoot you, and you're in the clear."

"I'm wearing a bullet-proof vest underneath my shirt. Just in case."

"Then you're going to be fine", she responded cheerfully. "Let me know how it went, okay?"

"This is not a joking matter, Mia." He answered quickly, but she had already hung up. Damn it.

He slipped the phone back in his pocket and stared at the gate in front of him. Mr. Sullivan certainly had an impressive security system.

What on earth was he doing here? Gabe Sullivan hadn't been to Smallville in years- Oliver had no idea what the man knew, and he had no idea how close he was to Chloe. She never mentioned her relationship with her father, and Oliver didn't want to open up old wounds.

"Mr. Queen, are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to ask to come in?"

His head shot up at the speaker. He walked over, and held the button as he spoke. It was too late to get back in the car and go back to Metropolis now. "Mr. Sullivan, may I come inside?" he asked politely

The gates opened, as the voice sounded again. "Was that so hard?"

Sarcasm. Snark. He always thought that Chloe got it from her mother's side of the family, but now it looked like it came from both sides.

The front door opened, and Gabe Sullivan leaned against the doorway as Oliver reached out a hand for him to shake. "Mr. Sullivan, it's nice to meet you."

The man accepted it, and gave a firm hand shake. Well, that was a difference from Pete Ross. "Gabe. Please. Come in."

He walked inside, and looked around the house. It was barely furnished, and had no personal items. The walls were a plain white- there were no family photos of any sort. Hopefully, Chloe and her dad were still on speaking terms, otherwise this was going to be very awkward.

"Have a seat", the man motioned to a white sofa, and Oliver sat down. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

He shook his head, and Gabe sat down across from him. "Mr. Sullivan", he started. "I apologize for just arriving at your doorstep unannounced."

"Mr. Queen, if there is anything that I have learned over the years, it's that I prefer the truth to a simple common courtesy."

Okay, so Gabe also had Pete's hatred for billionaires. Oliver was tired of being judged simply because of the Luthors.

Gabe seemed to spot his discomfort. "I don't mean to be rude."

He gave the man a small smile. "It's alright. I suppose I made some assumptions myself when I saw the impressive security system. I have no objections to the truth."

"From what I understand, you have only recently appreciated a sense of privacy."

Yes, he had been keeping his life very low key and paparazzi-free since Chloe had gone missing. And since she had picked him up from his downward spiral.

"It appears so."

"So tell me", Gabe said as he leaned forward. "Why are you here?"

Because your daughter is a part of a secret crime-fighting team that I put together years ago, and she's about to erase her memory of all of that, thus erasing any future good that she could possibly do.

But Oliver couldn't tell that story. "I'm looking for your daughter, Chloe."

"And what is it that you want with her?"

He remembered what AC told him, about that day he found her typing away in the Watchtower.

***Flash***

"He's not safe", she cried. "He's not safe from himself!"

***End Flash***

"To keep her safe."

"What kind of trouble is she in? What kind of trouble could she possibly be in that warrants a CEO to look for her?"

"Mr. Sullivan, you are well aware of the trouble that she found herself in on a daily basis as editor of the Torch."

Oliver knew that Chloe had difficulty with normal events as a teenager. He remembered an article in the Torch that dealt with a Luthorcorp worker taking the students hostage. She wrote from experience, she had to.

"Even as a normal student on a seemingly ordinary trip to a Luthorcorp Plant, didn't she find herself in a hostage situation?" he asked

He watched closely as the man's face shot up. "How did you know about that?"

"The Torch, December 11, 2001. It was the front page, I believe."

He was hoping to impress Chloe's dad, although he had no idea as to why that was. Hell, he was impressed with himself for remembering the exact date. But it didn't work. "Is there a reason as to why you're stalking my daughter?"

Okay, this was getting out of hand now. "I'm not stalking your daughter. I'm a friend of hers, and I'm concerned. Nobody has been able to get in contact with her in a couple of months. Have you heard from her recently?"

There was dead silence for a couple of minutes before Gabe cleared his throat. "No, I haven't."

Either it had been a while, or he was lying.

Oliver saw the sadness in his eyes, and that was when he realized that Gabe was absent from Chloe's wedding. Clark walked her down those stairs.

"Why weren't you at the wedding?" he asked abruptly

"What?"

"Chloe's wedding. Why weren't you there?"

Gabe stood up from the couch, his face slowly turning red. "Are you implying that I don't love my own daughter?"

Oliver stood up as well. "I'm merely stating the facts", he said with an even tone. "Your daughter was getting married, and you weren't there to support her. Why?"

"I raised her! I was there every single time she came home with another bruise or cut. Whenever she needed me, I was there without fail. Not to mention the fact that I had to support her, regardless of Lionel Luthor preventing me from getting a job anywhere. I did it for her!"

"But you didn't feel the need to support her when she was making a life-altering decision?"

He wanted Gabe angry. The man lived alone in a house that contained zero human emotion. It reminded him of the Watchtower- had the stained glass windows been replaced with plain ones, the impersonal monitors and white walls alone would have driven Chloe crazy. But she still blocked people out, the same way that Gabe seemed to. And Oliver needed to understand why Gabe did it.

"I have always supported her- I just didn't support what she was doing!"

Gabe took a deep breath before sitting back down. "You don't understand."

That's why he was there. "Try to explain it to me."

"Let me show you."

Oliver followed him up the stairs and into what he assumed was the master bedroom. Just a bed and a couple of drawers. But then Gabe opened the closet and pulled out a couple of boxes.

"I've gotten used to moving around from place to place for years so that the Luthors wouldn't find me. I guess the habit stuck after they died."

Oliver nodded as Gabe opened a box. "No matter where I go, I keep these with me. They're old, all of them. But as long as I have them, I can pretend that I'm not completely absent in Chloe's life, at least for a couple of minutes."

There were pictures of her growing up as a kid- Oliver smiled as he saw the innocent smile on her face.

"That was a picture of her after she printed her first copy of the Torch", Gabe said as he pointed to the last one. "She was so proud." He put aside the picture and picked up a CD. "She was always good with technology. Skipped the paper age of diary writing and went straight to password encrypted word documents."

Oliver tried to act calm, but he couldn't help but wonder if there was a hidden clue in there somewhere.

"She showed it to me a couple of years ago. She wanted to put everything behind her."

"Mr. Sullivan, I'm sorry. I don't understand…"

"Clark Kent. That's what the entries are about. Believe me, I have absolutely nothing against the boy. Good kid, good family. But Chloe has always been an incredibly giving person. I never liked how she dropped everything she was doing to help him."

Gabe pulled out a USB. "Showing me the word documents didn't seem to help her. She pulled up video files of herself from various locations in Smallville. To remind her of her past. I may not know much, but I did know that the man she was marrying wasn't her future. I raised my daughter so that she would never settle."

The man examined the USB, before looking back at Oliver. "Maybe I'm getting old, but I still have no idea how she does it. How she was able to get all of the files."

He smiled. That was Watchtower. "Believe me, sir. You're not getting old. Chloe's…special", he said, attempting to find an accurate word to describe what she did on a daily basis.

And then Mr. Sullivan smiled at him. A true smile, and Oliver had no idea where it came from. "I'm glad that someone can finally see it." He held out the USB. "Take it."

What could the old man see?


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 76

Oliver was sitting at Chloe's desk at the Watchtower, staring at the USB drive in front of him. This contained Chloe's past, and for some reason, was important enough to dig into security footage to store. He already knew about her past- he read every article about the meta-humans and meteor infected from cover to cover, as well as every file from the Isis Foundation.

Whatever was inside of here? It was dark, he could tell. And she already had a dark past. That didn't mean that she found herself playing for the wrong team. She could never do that.

Suddenly, a memory rushed to the front of Oliver's mind. He heard Amanda Waller's voice in his head, and winced as he remembered the pain that she inflicted.

"Sides? This isn't about sides, Green Arrow. This is about knowing who you're working for. It's about loyalty. Trust. If you really don't know who Watchtower is, or where to find her, then it seems like you trust a little too easily. What if she betrays you?"

But she didn't betray him, and he didn't trust easily. Regardless of her past actions, Oliver still trusted Chloe with his life. And he trusted Mia as well.

Mia. She should be here for this, should watch the video files with him. She earned that right. He reached for his cell phone, and sent her a quick text message: need you at Watchtower.

He plugged the USB into the main computer and waited for the video to load. He couldn't bring himself to press play, and just stared at the blank screen until the double doors opened, and a panicked Mia ran inside.

"What happened? What's wrong?" she asked, rushing to his side

He turned around to face her. "Nothing's wrong. Chloe's dad, he gave me this USB with video files from her past."

She stared at the screen for a moment before turning back to him, her eyes glittering with excitement. "What did you find?"

"I haven't watched it yet", he told her. "I thought you might…want to watch it with me."

Mia gave him a smile before walking over to the desk. "Do you mind?"

"Go ahead."

She pressed a button, and the file began to play.

Oliver recognized the background as the Luthor mansion. What was going on here? There were people sitting at the dining room table, glasses raised when suddenly the double doors opened. Clark walked in, Lois in arm.

"Looks like we missed dinner", he said.

"Clark. What are you doing here?" Lex asked

"Come on, Lex. You didn't think I was going to miss this, did you?" Clark was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "And look", he gestured towards Martha Kent. "My own mother would rather raise a glass with the enemy than stand by her own son."

"Wait a minute…" Oliver muttered. He saw this behavior before, right before Clark nearly strangled him.

"Clark, you're not yourself", Martha told him.

"Red Kryptonite", Oliver said to Mia.

"It's okay, Mom", Clark continued. "You're more a Luthor than a Kent these days, anyway."

The man leaned on the table. "I mean, Dad's been dead what? A year? But who can blame you for joining the race with Lana. To see who's going to add the Luthor monogram to their name first."

Martha's jaw dropped, and she shook her head slightly. Lex made a move to approach him, when he was stopped. "Lex, he's obviously on something and he wants us to react. Please don't." Lana told him.

Lex didn't make another move, and Oliver thought that at any moment, Clark was going to snap out of it. Apologize for his actions and leave. But he didn't.

"Chloe", he called out. "I can't say that I'm surprised that you're celebrating here." He said before moving over to the other side of the table. "After all, once Lana's off the market, all those years of unrequited pining may actually pay off."

Clark leaned over, and whispered in her ear. "I can't say I haven't thought about it."

Oliver's hand curled up into a fist as the clip ended and another took its place. His hand relaxed as he tried to make sense of the scene. Clark and Chloe were in some sort of hallway with lockers. So this is what Smallville High looked like.

"Don't you think that this Justin thing is moving a little too fast?" Clark asked

"We've been emailing back and forth for six months. I know him better than I know you", Chloe told him.

"Who's Justin?" Mia asked

"Justin Gaines, telekinesis student at Smallville High", Oliver answered immediately.

"Okay, you know it's weird how you know that, right?"

"Shhhh"

Clark took a deep breath. "Did he tell you what happened to his doctor?"

"No, but he did tell me that you were talking about him behind his back."

"I was just looking out for you, Chloe", Clark said before walking away from her.

But she followed him. "What's with you, Clark? Do you have some sort of savior complex? If I'm in trouble, you'll rescue me, but other than that, you're made emotionally unavailable."

Clark turned around to face her. "I just don't want you getting involved with Justin because you're mad at me."

There was a shocked look on her face. "Believe it or not, Clark, my world does not revolve around you. Why can't you just accept the fact that I found someone special, and unlike you? I'm willing to take a chance."

A bell rang, and Chloe walked away from him. The screen blurred for a moment, and another video took its place.

Oliver had no trouble recognizing this background. He had been to the Talon before, but he had never seen Chloe dressed that way. Or Clark hurrying to put his jacket back on.

"You don't have any real feelings for me, do you, Clark? Every time we hang out, it's just to get answers. Chloe, why don't you research this, or Chloe, why don't you look up that? I'm nothing more to you than your own personal search engine, and I'm sick of it."

There was a flash, and then suddenly, there was a crowd of people outside somewhere shouting "Dunk, dunk, dunk!"

Lois threw a football, and Clark fell into a pool of water. Chloe was cheering until Lois ran over to Clark and messed his hair up a little bit. Her face fell as she glanced from Lois to Clark to Lois again.

Oliver saw the defeated look on her face, and felt Mia's hand suddenly grip his shoulder.

The clip ended, his eyes shooting from the floor to the screen as he heard Chloe's voice. "Clark, before you unload your anger on me, can I just say that I think it is incredibly unfair that everyone trusts me to keep their secrets, and then they turn around and throw me attitude for keeping someone else's secret? Look, I'm sorry that I had to take a two second breather from hiding the fact that you are an alien from another planet to protect someone else for a change!"

"You know, when she puts it like that, all of our lives are crazy", Mia said.

Oliver nodded. This had all been getting to Chloe for a while now. The only reason she didn't snap years ago was because she had always been strong.

He could barely make out what was going on in the next clip. Everything was dark, but he saw as Chloe walked around. She spotted a little pink thing on the floor. "Oh, no."

She walked over to a shape on the ground. Was that…Lois' body? "Oh god", she said as she bent down to her cousin. She started speaking to her frantically. "Lois, it's going to be alright, okay? I'm going to get you out."

She rolled Lois over, and looked down. Oliver could see a small trail of red coming out of the room. Blood. "Oh my god."

She picked Lois up. "Oh my god." She looked at her again. "Lois? Come on, Lois. You're fighter. Come on." She started shouting. "Come on, Lois! You're the strongest girl I know, come on! Please! You can't die! I can't lose you!"

The tears were welling up in her eyes, and there was a moment's hesitation before Chloe continued. "I love you too much. Please."

A tear slid down her cheek, and the video was white. "What's going on?" Oliver asked

He ran over to the computer and started typing. Everything seemed like it was in order. Nobody tapped into their server or broke through any of the fire walls. What was happening to the feed?

"Oliver", Mia interrupted. "Look."

He looked at the screen as Lois shot up from the ground, looking at her surroundings. Chloe was sitting at the floor, unconscious. "Chloe?" she said confused. "Chloe, wake up."

The clip ended abruptly. The screen was black for a long time, and then he heard Chloe's voice echoing throughout the Watchtower. "I'm a meteor freak. And I want to be cured."

Mia glanced at Oliver. "Did you…?"

He shook his head. "She never told me."

But it made sense. Her words in Black Creek, right after he shot Clark. "I can save him!"

"So she could heal people." Mia said

"No", he said, shaking his head. "I don't think that she could. I think that she could take other people's injuries and then heal herself."

But her attempt to save Clark didn't work. It wasn't working. Her powers were gone, but why didn't anybody tell him?

Another clip started, and he watched as Chloe waited for someone outside of the Talon to meet her. A man in a military uniform tapped her on the shoulder before taking off his hat. She smiled before turning around and giving the man a hug.

"So, what brings you over to Smallville? You missed Lucy by a day", she told him.

"She's a Lane. Her ability to hide herself is similar to her habit of lying."

Chloe let out a laugh. "So what are you doing here?"

"I was hoping that another Lane could find her. Even if she's a Sullivan by marriage."

"I'll do what I can. Although it would be a good idea if you stayed under the grid from time to time", she said, jabbing him in the arm. "Keep you under the radar."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but my business requires me to stay in one place. Between family, my contacts need me to maintain a sense of…reliability."

"Well, family to family, your sense of safety is more important than reliability", Chloe told him.

"The military base in the heart of the nation's capital is as safe as you can get it."

"If you say so. I'll see what I can do about finding Lucy."

The man cupped her chin. "There's a bit of Lane in you, after all."

Another clip began, and Oliver saw the dimly lit Daily Planet. Lex was speaking to Chloe. "Make that article disappear, and you'll be a free woman."

"My mother sacrificed everything to protect the world from scum like you. And if taking you down means spending some quality time behind bars? Sign me up."

The clip ended, and Oliver found Chloe and Lois at what he believed to be the Torch office. He recognized the Wall of Weird, and smiled. He had a wall of his own.

"Lois, if you found out something. Something someone didn't want you to know about them, would you tell them?

"That depends", Lois said as she walked over to her. "Is that person someone you care about?"

Chloe nodded. "Yeah."

"And does keeping this secret hurt anyone?"

She was silent for a moment before answering. "No."

"Then my answer is no. If I really cared about that person, I wouldn't tell them that I knew. But I would go out of my way to be supportive of them, so that hopefully, one day, they would be comfortable enough to tell me themselves."

Chloe nodded before letting out a laugh. "No offense Lois, but that's the last thing that I expected to hear from you."

Oliver chuckled. "She's right."

Lois smiled. "I've learned the hard way that people keep secrets for a reason- even from the people they're closest to."

The video ended, and the computer went back to its home screen.

There was a lot that he had seen, a lot to digest. And in that moment, it felt that consuming an entire bottle of scotch was the only way to do that. He couldn't let himself fall into old habits. Not anymore.

Oliver pulled a drawer out, and took a pair of keys. He threw it over to Mia, who caught it. "What's this?" she asked

"The key to my liquor cabinet. I need you to hold on to that."

She silently stuck it in her pocket. "Are you okay?"

He wanted to lie, to say that everything was fine. But he knew that Mia wouldn't buy it. Not anymore. "I'm not really."

She kneeled, and put some weight on the arms of the chair. "Talk to me."

"I don't know", he started. "It's just that every time I think that I know her, everything changes."

"You know her", she said firmly. "There are elements that you were missing before, but you know her. And you don't need alcohol to remember that."

He hated how mad he was at Clark right now. He didn't even know what the Kryptonian was up to these days. "I'm just so angry with him. She was so frustrated, and he didn't get it."

"It was a long time ago."

He slammed a fist on the desk. "I wish that I could have fixed it."

"If you find her, you can."

There was silence for a moment. He glanced at Mia for a minute. She had grown so much over the past couple of months. "You know, you've really changed", he said.

"What?"

"You've grown so much. Less than a year ago, you were an angry kid on the streets. And now look at you!" He watched as a blush crept up on her face. "I'm so proud of you, Mia."

"It's not a big deal. You need to focus on finding her, though. Personally, I'm hoping for no more dead leads."

But this wasn't a dead lead. There was something there.

"Wait a second", he said before focusing on the keyboard in front of him.

"What are you looking at?" Mia asked

"There was something before. A military base in the heart of the nation's capital."

He started typing, and replayed the scene. "I can't believe I didn't recognize him before."

He got up from the chair and opened the bookcase before stepping into his secret room. He pulled out a picture. "That man. He was General Sam Lane. Lois' father."

"Chloe's uncle?"

He nodded. "And according to the video, he relies on keeping a steady location. He hasn't moved from there." He gave Mia the picture before heading out of the room and over to the nearest computer. "If I can pin-point the military bases in the heart of DC, I should be able to track him down."

He typed wildly before pulling up the history that he knew about General Sam Lane. He was a well known military leader. Oliver could scratch out the smaller military bases without a second thought.

"If I can just find one base that's significantly larger than the rest", he said as he typed.

"Then you can find out where he is", Mia finished for him.

There was a small beeping noise, as the search concluded. "Got him."


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-One

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 80

It had taken a couple of days to get a back-story, but here he was, walking around a military base in Washington DC in his coat and tie. He called the military base and told them that he was interested in funding a generic military training program.

He shook countless hands, but he hadn't found the one that he was looking for. He expected the General to be here, but so far, he was absent.

Nobody was helping him here, and he was starting to get frustrated. He couldn't run around this entire military base trying to find one person. It was an impossible task.

"Lieutenant Johnson", a man introduced Oliver to a woman giving him a small scowl before saluting him.

Apparently to the true members of the military, shaking hands was out of fashion. Oliver followed suit, and returned the salute. The woman was still giving him a dirty look.

"Excuse us", he said to the man showing him around before taking the woman aside. "Is there something wrong, Lieutenant?"

"I see you rich suits every day, keeping an eye on our base. You all look around, trying to find something interesting to fund when you don't know what we're about here."

He smiled at her. This woman didn't think that he understood the truth behind the American way, that through the wealth, his respect for his country had been lost and that he was selfish. But he couldn't tell her the truth- he couldn't tell her his identity.

"I think I understand what you're about."

"Oh really?" the woman asked

Oliver nodded.

Johnson pulled out a gun, and for a split second, he thought that she was going to shoot him. It wouldn't be the first time someone tried.

Instead, she held the gun out to him. "Do you see that target there?" she asked, pointing

"Yes."

"Shoot it."

He started to walk over to the target, but the woman held him back. "Shoot it from here."

He grabbed the gun from her hand, and gripped it. "You're looking for some honesty?" he asked

She nodded.

"The truth, Lieutenant, is that I'm looking for someone here. And people here aren't being honest with me. I don't see him here, and you guys won't let me find him."

"We protect our own", the woman told him.

"I respect that."

"I'll make you a deal, Mr. Queen. You shoot that target, you get anywhere close to it? I'll try and help you."

But that wasn't going to cut it. If he could gain military access, getting information would be a hell of a lot easier. With access like that, maybe he would be able to find Chloe right away.

He shook his head. "That's not good enough for me. You see, now that I'm being honest with you, you know something that I don't want the public to know. If I shoot that target, I want anonymity while I'm here."

"Done."

He held out a hand. If these guys saluted to seal deals as well, it would seem a bit ridiculous.

But the woman shook on it. "You haven't shot that target yet. I'm not too worried."

He kept shaking her hand as he whipped out the gun and shot behind her. "I'm not worried either."

She turned around and ran over to the target. He followed her, and smiled as she touched the embedded bullet. "How were you able to do that?"

"Now Lieutenant, I believe you guaranteed me a sense of anonymity. That should apply to a limit on questions, shouldn't it?"

The woman looked a little afraid of him now. "This man that you're looking for. What are you going to do to him once you find him?"

"I'm going to ask him a couple of questions."

"Torture?" the woman asked immediately

He shook his head. "Never."

She pressed a button on her watch. "I can't help you right now, Mr. Queen. There are too many people- this is a military base. Heavy security and cameras everywhere. If I give you a location, it'll mean betraying this man. We have 90 seconds before this beeps again and sound is detected again."

Limited time. Got it. "Listen, I'm looking for General Sam Lane. And for some reason, he's completely off the grid. I know that he should be here in the capital, but I can't find him."

She shook her head. "That doesn't make sense. Generals operate independently, but they're required to stay on the radar. Government orders."

Government orders didn't stop Chloe. "I don't know how he pulled it off, but I need to find him."

"I'll check to see what I can find out. Stay here", she told him.

He didn't want to risk her giving him the wrong location. He didn't have the time for mistakes. "I'm coming with you."

"You aren't one of us. I can't have you intruding in a secure building."

"And I'm not getting second-hand information. I'm coming with you. I don't care if you have to smuggle me in."

"What do you want from him? What could possibly be so important?"

He opened his mouth to tell her that it was none of her business when the watch beeped.

He cleared his throat. "Lieutenant Johnson, did you want to show me that part of the base later, since it isn't open right now?"

There was silence for a moment before she took a deep breath and answered. "I suppose that would be alright. I'll need your card."

He nodded and reached in his pocket for a business card and a pen. He scribbled the address of the hotel and the room number on the back, with a message: I'm coming with you, whether you want me to or not.

He held the card out to her. "Personal number is on the back", he said before winking at her and walking away. All he had to do now was wait.

"I don't trust her", he heard Mia say on the phone.

"I don't either. Why else do you think I insisted on going too?" he said as he stared at the door to his hotel room

"No, I don't even trust her to show up. How much do you want to bet that she's increasing security in the building right this second? She's loyal to her own."

He checked the clock on the night-stand. It was already 10:00 PM. He had been waiting around doing nothing for hours.

"You may be right about that", he said as he reached for his laptop bag, unzipping it and pulling out his laptop.

"Do you have your laptop with you, or should I take out mine?"

"I have mine, but I don't know how much it's going to help me out. I can't access the main security from here, and I wouldn't be able to do it on the field."

He heard an engine suddenly revving in the background. "Mia? What are you doing?"

"The only way that you're going to be able to get in is if someone's at Watchtower keeping an eye on security."

And then it suddenly clicked- she was going to be a temporary Watchtower. Mia was going to try Chloe's job at the Watchtower. Oliver suddenly felt both uncomfortable with her being there, and worried that she was going to get herself killed on the road. He had been in a car with her before.

"Mia, no. I'll find another way to shut down security."

"You won't let me go with you so that I can watch your back because you're afraid that you'll be responsible for my death, I get it. Watchtower is safe. It's completely secure. I won't say that I'm there as much as you are, but I've definitely been there before."

"I don't want you to man the computers", he told her firmly.

"I'm not going to screw up anything, if that's what you're worried about."

When she found out that he was the Green Arrow, she insisted that he teach her everything that he knew. She wanted to be just like him, and since she didn't pick up his old habits of drinking, that was fine. But he wasn't okay with her picking up what he had since he had temporarily taken over the Watchtower.

"I don't want you to end up like me."

"I do", she answered immediately.

"No, you don't understand. Staying in the Watchtower made Chloe morally gray. And we both know that I'm getting the same way. That's not happening to you", he decided.

"It's one time, Oliver. It's not a big deal. I'm already here."

He heard the hissing noise of the double doors opening. "Suit up, put on your earpiece, and I'll have the location of the building ready for you."

She hung up on him. Damn it. He dialed her number again, but it just rang until her voicemail picked up.

He dropped his cell phone on the bed and opened his suitcase. He took out all of the clothes, and opened up the bottom of the suitcase to reveal his Green Arrow suit, the arrows, and the folded up compound and cross bows.

He changed quickly before slipping on his earpiece. "Arrow, online."

"Don't worry, I'm still going by Speedy." Her voice answered

"This is a bad idea", he said.

"No, you know what is a bad idea? You going into a secure building that has actually upped its security over-night thanks to the military to try and get information. And going in alone, no less."

"I might have just missed Sam Lane while I was walking around today. This could all be for nothing", he reminded her.

"And there's the chance that Sam Lane isn't even in DC right now. Now, are you going to zip-line over to the building or not?"

"You haven't given me any directions."

"You aren't even at the window!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm getting there", he grumbled as he opened the window widely, and stepped out onto the ledge.

There was some typing, and she gave him directions to the building.

"You need to make a left. There should be two guards right there, so be careful."

"Got it."

He slowed down at the corner, and poked his head out so that he could see the guards. One arrow full of knock-out gas coming up. He loaded his crossbow and shot at the wall, waiting for the bodies to drop to the ground.

"Where's the main computer?" he spoke into the ear-piece

"It should be the second door to the right."

"And the cameras that are all over this place?"

"I believe you bragged about your video loop software at one point. I can't believe you made a program for that, by the way. Especially when you told me how easy it is to do."

He let out a chuckle. "Easy, yes. Irritating job, though." He tried the handle of the door. "And of course, it's double locked." He kneeled so that he could be at eye level with the locks. "Keep an eye on the surrounding area."

He took out his lock pick, and started carefully working his way through the lock. "Are you sure that nobody's inside?"

She typed in the background before answering. "Just triple-checked. It's clear. Can't guarantee that the computer itself isn't protected, though."

"Don't worry about that", he said as he worked on the second lock. "And make sure that you complete target practice later."

"I will", she said as he opened the door. He stood up, and loaded his crossbow before stepping inside. If there were people inside, he needed to make sure that his identity wasn't compromised.

The room had a wall of file cabinets and one main computer. He headed straight for the computer- it had been a long time since he had gone the paper route.

He smirked when he saw the administrator passwords and file protections. It was cute, it really was. But someone was expected to react to the knocked out guards outside. He didn't have as much time as he would have liked. He reached in his pocket for the USB that would get him instant access, and plugged it in.

"Arrow to Speedy, I'm in."

"Good. I'll make sure to jam communications between the guards. Buy you more time."

He ignored her as he started looking for General Sam Lane. He had a lot of history, and if nothing else, this could be useful information. He ran a search in the background as he copied file after file on a memory stick.

Sam Lane was involved in a lot of interesting cases- political cases that Oliver knew the country didn't have United Nations approval for. The General was getting himself into a lot of trouble.

After he finished copying every file, Oliver moved over to the filing cabinets. He gave them each a quick search until he found Sam Lane's file. He put his sunglasses back on, and clicked the edge to take pictures of each page.

He was on the second to last page when Mia spoke in his ear-piece. "Speedy to Arrow, you've got company. There's a group of guards coming your way. Get out of there."

"I'm almost done with the last page", he said as he focused the glasses.

"No, now."

He snapped the picture before putting the file back into the cabinet and pushing it shut. He felt the adrenaline rushing as he unplugged the USB and the memory stick and started typing on the keyboard.

He needed to erase all traces of evidence that showed that anybody was peeking into the General's files. His gloves removed the possibility of fingerprinting, but he needed to finish erasing his access. Almost there. Just a little bit more.

The handle on the door started to move. Someone was trying to get inside. He finished erasing everything, and shut the computer down. All he had to do now was get out of here.

He looked up and down for an escape route, a backdoor of some kind. But there was nothing. The ceiling had tiles in it. Perfect.

He slipped open a tile, and shot an arrow up so that it would automatically propel him upwards. He tucked his arms and legs so that he was in a small ball, and sealed the ceiling tile beneath him right before the door burst open.

"Talk to me." He heard Mia's frantic voice in his ear, but he couldn't answer her. Not while there were people in the room.

"I thought you said that security in this wing was compromised. That there was no activity in the cameras", a man spoke.

Damn it, Mia didn't apply the loop to every camera in the building. Just the wing that he was in.

"There wasn't, sir."

"What's going on?" Mia asked in a worried tone

"We checked every room in this hallway and found nothing. You're paid for a reason. Prove it to me."

Okay, they didn't know that he was here. Just don't move.

2 minutes later, the door shut again, and Oliver waited for a sign of no activity in the slightest before slipping the tile out of its space in the ceiling and jumping back down.

"Speedy, I need an escape route as soon as possible", he said into the ear-piece

"Did you find out where the General is?"

"I found a lot of information on the General. I don't know where he is yet. But I do know that he's not here. I need that escape route."

"Okay."


	32. Chapter 32

A/N: I know nothing about the military's customs, and apologize if I caused any sense of confusion. This chapter's kind of short, but I felt that it was good to end it there.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 81

The Watchtower was empty when Oliver pushed open the double doors before grabbing the handle of his carry-on and dragging it behind him. Mia was nowhere to be found, and Clark hadn't decided to drop by for a visit. Not after what happened last time.

Oliver didn't have much time to read Sam Lane's files while he was at the nation's capital, and was anxious to get started. After following so many dead leads, he finally had something solid to go on. There was no time to waste.

He set the suitcase down on the couch and headed straight for Chloe's desk. He pulled out the hacking USB and the memory stick out of his pocket, and pressed a button on the keyboard so that the computer would spring to life.

He sat down, started typing, and didn't stop until he reached the building's database. He knew what branch of the military he was looking for now, what database to access. And since the hacking USB had entered the main computer, it knew how to access it again. He plugged it into the computer and waited a couple of minutes until he had full access to the military's database.

He didn't search for Chloe while he was there- time was limited and although he wanted to search for her right away, he needed to get information on the General. Time was still limited now that he was back, but at least he didn't have to worry about security.

The search was going to take a little while- there was a lot of information to go through, so Oliver moved into the kitchen and made himself a cappuccino. He steamed the milk, his mind floating to how finding the General would help him find Chloe.

Every time he made a cup of coffee, it still felt like she never left, as if traces of her were still here. He was Watchtower now, and that was wrong. He stared at the stained glass window in front of him.

The sun would come out soon, its rays would pass through the glass, and the Watchtower would be filled with color and life once more. And if he worked hard enough, the Watchtower would have more than just traces of its real owner. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't hack into systems like she did.

There was a beeping noise right after the cappuccino was ready, and Oliver headed back to the desk. No records found.

"Oh, come on!" he exclaimed at the computer

Military access and still nothing. All he had to go on was the General now. He sighed to himself before dropping his sunglasses on the touch screen on a table, and pushing the visual files out onto the main monitor. He walked in front of the desk, and peered at the screen before taking a sip of his drink.

Chloe's Uncle Sam wasn't just working for Uncle Sam. He was a part of a black-ops division of the government, taking care of issues that the country wasn't allowed to stick its nose in.

The General spent years in the Middle East, and by the looks of it, he was now stationed somewhere in Africa. All Oliver had to do now was find out which part.

It took him hours, but he was able to print out a list of locations that the General had been in for the past ten years. If this managed to work, and the General helped him find Chloe, Oliver would make sure that the government had ample funding. That, and he would make Queen Industries as green as humanly possible in order to compensate for the amount of paper he had wasted over the past couple of months.

He opened up the hidden room behind a bookcase, and glanced at the world map that was covered with thumb tacks of the places that he had torn apart in search for Chloe. Europe was littered with them, China and Cuba also receiving their fair share.

He walked over to the wall where he broke down continents. Africa remained untouched, how could Africa have remained completely untouched?

He looked at the list of the General's locations for a split second before reaching for his box of thumb tacks.

The General started his travels at South Africa before moving to Namibia. He progressed to Botswana before heading over to Angola and Zambia. He filed a report on behavior in the natives of Tanzania.

Tanzania was the last page on his file, and there was nothing else on the memory stick that suggested otherwise. That trip was over a year ago.

Where could the man have gone? Oliver double checked the reports- Sam Lane definitely moved since his trip to Tanzania. Oliver marked the individual countries on the map of Africa, and stepped back when he was finished.

There was a pattern, a linear pattern that could predict where the General could have gone next. He marked the area with a red thumb tack, and walked back to the main computer before entering another search.

And this time, he didn't need to wait very long. There was only one result- border control between the Sudan and Kenya.

He ran up the stairs and picked up his carry-on before walking over to his desk and pulling out a couple of guns. He had no idea what to expect from this trip. He had no idea how he was going to find the General in the middle of Africa, and he had no idea how he was going to convince such a loyal man to give up the location of his niece.

This was a solid lead, and that knowledge gave Oliver the first real sense of adrenaline that he had since Cuba. He heard the blood pumping through his heart at a quickened pace as he called his pilot and tried to maintain a calm disposition. This was going to work, it needed to.

The instant he hung up the phone, he slipped his phone in his pocket, opened the double doors of the Watchtower, and locked up without looking back.

In all of his excitement, Oliver Queen forgot to tell anybody where he was going.


	33. Chapter 33

A/N: Check out the banner that nivieniv created for this story here:

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Days without Chloe Sullivan: 82

Oliver was in the middle of Kenya, making his way over to what he supposed was General Sam Lane's camp by the border. He was driving along the rough path in the small van that he had stolen directly after landing. He glanced at the GPS on his phone and made a turn.

He heard shooting in the distance. He smiled to himself- he was almost there, and now all he had to do was talk to the General. The man couldn't run, not anymore. And since Sam Lane was a family man, he probably knew exactly where his niece was.

But Chloe's own father hadn't heard from her, and although the General was loyal to family, he was loyal to his country first. He must have been incredibly busy, running some sort of secret operation here in Kenya.

Oliver shook his head at the thought of failure. He drove in the direction of the shooting, thinking only of the possibilities when his phone started beeping. He glanced at it- the GPS system was rerouting itself. Wherever the shooting was coming from, it wasn't in the direction of the camp he found at the Watchtower.

Sam Lane was probably on the move, which meant that Oliver was just that much closer to finding him. He got closer to the camp, and abandoned the van when the camp was in plain sight, dragging a duffel bag with him. He hid behind a large tent and took a look around at his surroundings.

That was when he saw them- the African child soldiers that were surrounded in the place. They were armed with guns. These were just kids- what on Earth was the General thinking, using innocent children like this? What was the man's end game?

An order was shouted, and he heard the familiar shooting. Target practice- that was what this was. Oliver unzipped his duffel bag and loaded a gun, just in case one of the leaders attacked him. He glanced at the GPS again- he was 20 miles away from where he should be.

He kept an eye on the people in front of the tent and turned his head to see what was behind him, spotting a little ledge from above and a hill following it. He had his bow, quiver, and another gun in the bag.

He was about to move around the tent to check out more of this camp when he suddenly saw an armed child in front of him. "What are you doing here?"

It was a harsh, ordering voice speaking Swahili. Okay. "Hi, I'm a traveler. I got lost", he answered innocently.

But the kid spotted the gun next to him and loaded his machine gun, aiming it at Oliver. "I'll ask again. What are you doing here?"

Oliver reacted in a split-second, grabbing the gun and aiming it at him. But he didn't shoot. He couldn't- his gun was loaded with bullets, not tranquilizers. This kid probably had a family out there looking for him.

He remembered saving a kid in Star City a year ago who looked identical to the boy in front of him now. He couldn't be older than 8 or 9. Oliver couldn't shoot him, not when this kid had his whole life ahead of him. The kid was threatened, that was all.

But there were trick arrows in his bag, and those weren't designed to kill. The bag was right behind him- if he could just reach for it.

"I told you, I got lost", he said slowly as he reached a hand behind him and started to feel out the quiver. There were too many clothes here, too many bottles of water.

Oliver looked behind the kid and saw a small crowd heading towards him. They spotted that the kid wasn't falling in with the rest of them. They were coming to investigate, and they would all kill him on the spot.

Finally, he felt the quiver. He grabbed the first arrow he could grab his hands on, and stabbed the kid in the arm with it, backing away quickly with his gun, phone, and bag as he waited for the effect.

The kid started shooting his gun all over the place in terror until his body was covered over with ice. Oliver let out a sigh- he would be defrosted in a couple of hours with a little bit of pain in his arm and a headache. The kid would be fine.

But there was a chance that Oliver wouldn't be. He suddenly found himself surrounded by armed African children. And they didn't seem to care that he looked like a lost American. This wasn't Sam Lane's camp. Shit.

He back-flipped on top of the ledge and started running blindly, not caring about the shooting behind him. He wondered just how far his Kevlar vest would take him, before he remembered that he wasn't covered in the material. A shot to the head would kill him, and a shot to the arm would render him incapable of Green Arrow activity.

They followed him to the car, and the worst part was that he couldn't fight back. He wasn't going to hurt innocent children. They weren't at fault here- they were corrupted somehow.

He opened the door to get inside, and a group of kids started shooting at him as they got closer and closer to the car. They were starting to punch instead of shoot, and they had good aim with their fists.

"I'm not going to hurt you", he started saying over and over in Swahili. Maybe there was something wrong with his accent or dialect- they weren't listening to him. The numbers kept growing and growing, and he wasn't going to die here in some weird camp in the middle of Kenya.

He fought back, with just enough aggression to get into the car safely. He started the car, and looked around the mirrors. They were everywhere- he couldn't move the car in any direction without severely injuring or killing anyone.

And then he heard the loud gun-fires. His head automatically shot up at the noise in front of him, his eyes widening when he saw the tanks. He had to get out of here.

He switched the car into reverse and sped in the opposite direction, his eyes filling with tears.

"Oh my god", he repeated to himself in horror as he saw the path of dead children behind him. "Oh my god."

He heard Chloe's voice in his head. "This is murder."

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" he screamed at the bodies as he continued to drive away from the scene

He got a good distance away from the camp when the tanks finally backed off. He grabbed his bag and started walking. He was breathing heavily as he saw the image of those children being destroyed because of him.

He fell to his knees, and held his head in his hands. He had been doing this for 82 days, but nobody had ever died because of him. His mission hadn't put anybody in jeopardy, just himself.

He shook his head, the tears falling freely now. They were just kids, all of them. He could have helped them somehow.

There was a sudden rush of wind, and an arm on his shoulder. "It's not your fault."

He looked up, and saw the sympathetic face of Bart Allen. Oliver gave him a confused look. "What are you doing here?"

He held out a hand. "Let's go. They'll be back."

"Bart, what…?"

"Later", he interrupted. "Come on."

He grabbed the hand, and Bart pulled him to his feet. There was a rush of wind, a flash of red, and suddenly, they were gone.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty-Four

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 82.5

Oliver found himself in some sort of room, but before he could take in his surroundings his vision started to blur, a sudden sense of nausea taking over his body.

He closed his eyes and sucked in a breath of air. The image of the dead bodies in a trail behind him flashed in his mind.

"Deep breaths. Come on", a voice sounded behind him. He opened his eyes when he felt two hands pushing him towards a red blob. He blinked a couple of times, and waited for the couch to come into view. He sat down, and took another deep breath until his vision completely cleared.

Bart sat down at the couch across from him. "What brings you to this side of the globe?"

"I'm looking for Chloe."

"What do you mean, you're looking for Chloe?" Bart asked slowly

"Chloe left Metropolis. I'm looking for her", Oliver answered curtly.

Bart nodded. "You and Clark got separated." He darted up from the couch, and pulled out his cell phone. "I'll give him a call."

No, that's not what happened. Oliver shot up and pulled Bart back before he had a chance to speed off or call. "Clark's not with me."

"Obviously." Bart looked at him as if he were dense.

"Clark decided not to look for her- that she had been in the thick of everything for too long and that it was better for her to move on with her life. I disagreed, and I've been looking for her ever since."

Bart was silent for a moment before nodding slowly. "That sounds like him. How long has she been gone? A couple of days?"

"A couple of months", Oliver said, waiting for the inevitable lecture. He waited for Bart to ask him what compelled Chloe to leave. And Oliver would rightfully take the blame.

"The Watchtower couldn't track her down. That makes sense. What doesn't make sense is how you still haven't found her after a couple of months."

"She wiped herself from the face of the planet. I've been constantly looking for her, Bart. These past couple of months haven't exactly been a picnic for me."

"That's not good enough, and you know it. It's your job to protect her and keep her safe, and you failed!"

Right. If Bart had ever said told Chloe that, she probably would have laughed in his face. "What do you mean it's my job?"

"The rest of us, we don't live in Metropolis."

"I don't live in Metropolis", Oliver argued.

"Oliver, when was the last time you were in Star City for a long period?"

He tried to remember, but he couldn't think of a time when he didn't stay for longer than a week or two.

Bart smirked in victory. "Yeah, you live in Metropolis. And since you do, it's your job to make sure Chloe's okay when the rest of us aren't around."

"What am I, her bodyguard or something? Ever tell her your bizarre idea?"

Bart shook his head. "I don't have to. You're the leader of our team. It's in the job description."

But Oliver wasn't the leader. At least, he wasn't anymore. He just seemed to bump into his old teammates. He didn't find them, and he didn't go looking for him after Doomsday. "Bart, I think we both know that I haven't been the leader of the team for a while now", he said softly.

"No, we have two leaders. Personally, I think it's a better system."

Leaders didn't kill poor innocent children. "If I'm such a great leader, then why couldn't I save those kids?" he asked, frustrated

"Stop." Bart said the word with such a commanding tone that Oliver just looked at him in confusion.

"Stop what?"

"Stop blaming yourself for everything. You don't understand the whole picture." Bart turned on his phone, and played with a couple of menus before showing Oliver the screen. He saw a map covered with red blips. "See those red dots?" Bart asked. He nodded. "Those are child soldier camps around the border. There's genocide going on in the Sudan, and Kenya has no other way to defend themselves."

"They're bringing in kids?"

Bart nodded. "They take them in at a really young age. They're either found wandering around or they're taken from their families. Trained to be soldiers- they're practically brainwashed. They're not little kids anymore, Oliver. You couldn't have stopped them."

"I ran over them with a car."

"They were chasing you with a tank. I followed you, I saw it. You had to. Don't you dare blame yourself for this."

"Why?" Oliver asked. "Because I owe it to myself after everything that I've seen and been through over the years?"

"No", Bart shook his head. "Because you owe it to me. You owe it to Chloe."

"What are you talking about?"

"During the Roulette mission, AC hit you with a truck. And all of a sudden, it was up to me to make sure that you came out of it alive. Doomsday made me morally gray as it was, but your life was put in my hands. Had I been a split second later, you would have died."

"I didn't ask for the Roulette mission. You guys did it all on your own."

Bart scoffed. "Of course you were asking for it. You were drunk every night and you completely lost control of yourself."

"They were my mistakes to make!" Oliver exclaimed

"You don't get it, do you? We're a team. We're scattered all over the globe, but that doesn't change what we are. You brought us together. What, did you think that we were going to just turn our back on you because things went wrong?"

"Sure I did, I had no problem with turning my back on you."

"You don't go and get plastered unless you want to drown your emotions. You were guilty for not looking back."

Suddenly, there was a whirring sound, and Bart fell to his knees, his body shaking violently before he was knocked unconscious.

"Bart?" Oliver got down to the floor, and shook him. "Buddy, wake up."

There was no response. He turned him over, and saw the dart in his back. He pulled it out and examined it. It was a red Taser dart. With the exception of the color, it was identical to his own. He should have recognized the noise.

He wasn't surprised when he saw Speedy emerge from the shadow of the room. She flicked off the voice distorter and took off her sunglasses "Oliver, let's go."

"What are you doing here?" he asked

"I'm saving your ass. Come on, let's go."

"Mia, you just knocked out Impulse." He told her

"Wait, what? I found you, and then he took you. I thought…" she trailed off

"How did you even find me?"

She took out a GPS system, and showed him the green blip on the screen. "There's a tracer on your phone. Thankfully, this guy doesn't have the signals jammed."

"That still doesn't explain anything."

She shrugged, and glanced at the body in front of them. "Oh, yeah, that reminds me", she said.

Oliver perked up at her words, but the next thing that he registered was pain as he unexpectedly stumbled around, trying to find his balance. Mia punched him in the jaw.

"Way to tell me that you were following a lead in Africa."

He let out a groan. "I didn't leave a note or anything?"

She shook her head.

"Mia, I'm…"

"Save it. I punched you in the face, you know what you did. We're good. Don't let it happen again. I found the coordinates by doing a system playback over the past couple of days. You have no idea how difficult it was to get your pilot to take me here."

If only the system playback worked months ago when he tried to find Chloe. Would have been a huge time-saver, but she was better at covering her tracks than he was.

"Well, as you can see, I'm perfectly fine."

"Can you stop lying to me, Oliver? I found you when you got out of the car. He", she nudged Bart's body with her boot, "beat me to getting to you. But I still saw you."

"What doesn't kill us…" he took a breath.

"Anyway, we better get going. Otherwise we're going to be late."

"Late for what?" He asked Mia

"I assumed that you're here to track down the General."

Sam Lane. Chloe's uncle. Right. "I guess with everything, I got a little bit sidetracked."

"And that's fine. I don't blame you, but we should get to that camp as soon as possible. We don't know when they're going to relocate.

There was a groaning sound, and they watched as Bart opened his eyes, clutching his forehead. "Never figured to get a security system here", he managed as he sat up. He seemed to spot Mia's boots and trailed his eyes upwards until he saw her. He glanced at Oliver and then back at Mia. "He always keeps good company", Oliver heard him mutter.

Mia held out a hand. "Sorry about that."

Bart took it, and she pulled him up. Oliver watched uncomfortably as Bart continued to hold on to her hand. "I never say no to an apology, especially from someone who looks like you. Bart Allen", he introduced himself before kissing the glove and releasing it.

Oliver watched as Mia's cheeks turned pink. "Mia Dearden."

"Okay, we should really get to that military camp, shouldn't we, Mia?" he prompted

"The American military base?" Bart asked

"Yeah, Chloe's uncle is there. And I think he might have some answers."

"They're heading out to destroy a child soldier camp later tonight."

"Wait, how do you know about the camp?" Mia asked him

"Wounded soldiers lose their sense of direction sometimes. If they can somehow get their way back, the medic at the camp can save them."

"You've been through a couple of the war zones?" Mia asked curiously

"Impulse is super fast", Oliver said.

"Yeah, well", Bart said nervously. Oliver had never known him to be shy. Ever.

"We could really use your help. Can you help us get to them?"

Bart glanced at his watch. "They're probably already gone." He pulled out his cell phone. "But I think I know where they're headed. Interested?"

Oliver and Mia responded at the same time. "Always."


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter Thirty-Five

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 82.8

Oliver found himself out of Bart's apartment as quickly as he found himself inside of it. It was dark outside when Bart sped him out and went back for a second to pick up Mia.

He wished that he had his gear with him right now- all he had to defend himself with was the pathetic little gun in his hand. He still hadn't forgotten the tanks that came after him earlier. Not to mention the children. He saw the swarm of children from his little corner in the dirt.

Was he supposed to be able to kill them now? Is that what Bart's little pep talk was supposed to do for him? Because he still wasn't sure if he could do it. Did Bart kill them? How long had he been here? Could he even trust him? Oliver had so many questions for him.

And then, he heard Chloe's voice in his head. We're a team. We trust each other, no matter what. If you don't trust your gut, at least trust that.

***Flashback***

"I worry about them too, you know", he said to her as he looked at the ninja star in her hand. "I wonder what they're doing, if they're safe."

"They're safe, Oliver. Absent, but safe", Chloe answered as she moved over to a computer and started typing after putting the ninja star down. "All we have to do now is make sure that we can say the same thing for Clark."

"How can you be sure?"

"I don't know- I just…I think that I would just know if there was something wrong. I would feel it."

"I have so many questions for all of them. I don't know what they're up to. And I don't trust my gut to tell me if something's wrong like you do."

"We're a team. We trust each other, no matter what. If you don't trust your gut, at least trust that", she said, her eyes never leaving the screen. The computer beeped, and she stopped typing. "Got them." She moved a hand to the mouse, and clicked on it twice. "There are heat signatures in that museum right now. And I'm betting that one of them is Clark's mysterious friend. How are you feeling?"

He surveyed himself. "These?" he asked, looking at the cuts from the glass "It's nothing. I'll be fine."

***End Flashback***

Oliver took a deep breath as Bart and Mia appeared by his side. "Alright, Impulse. Where are we?" he asked

Bart took out his cellphone, and threw it over to Oliver, who caught it with his free hand. He glanced at the map as Bart spoke. "The soldiers should be here any minute."

"There", Mia said, pointing. He looked ahead, and sure enough, there was a group of marching soldiers coming. How was he going to spot which one was Sam Lane? He had only seen pictures of him, the latest one dated three years ago.

"Stay close", he said before looking at the crowd of child soldiers heading towards the Americans. They had to get over to the other side somehow. They couldn't just run- Bart was the only one who could make it, and there wasn't enough time for Bart to super-speed everyone back and forth. Someone would get left behind. It wasn't an option.

They had to make their own path somehow. And he wasn't going to be able to do it with a gun. He didn't want to kill anybody. He looked at Mia. "Give me your bow and quiver for a second. I have an idea."

She looked at him in confusion before handing her bow. He pressed a button, and the compound bow unfolded. He grabbed three taser arrows, and loaded one. They weren't designed to kill. They weren't designed to kill.

He took a deep breath before releasing it and quickly loaded the second, firing it before the first body fell. "Come on", he said, running ahead and hiding behind another tent after taking grabbing the two arrows from the bodies. Oliver saw Mia run behind him instantly before Bart grabbed her hand and sped over to his side.

"If we can make it over to that side, then we'll have better luck in finding him. How many trick arrows do you have in here?" Oliver asked Mia

"It's almost completely filled with them."

He nodded as he looked at the crowd of people. More trick arrows meant less dead bodies. This was good, especially since everybody seemed to be blending together. Height difference was the only thing allowing Oliver to distinguish sides.

"You had to face your demons if you were ever going to make it out alive." He heard Chloe's voice in his head.

He glanced at Mia's quiver, and then at his own gun. He stuck the arrow in his hand back in the quiver, and threw the compound bow over to her. He couldn't allow her to run around completely defenseless, and he would rather have blood on his own hands than hers.

Her and Bart, they were only kids. He knew that he was going to feel guilty for killing, but he knew that he couldn't let anything happen to them. Sacrifices were going to have to be made in order for all three of them to come out of this alive.

"Do me a favor?" he asked both of them. "Don't judge me for what happens next."

They nodded. He took out his gun, and fired at a child soldier in order to make a path. He avoided looking at the falling body. "Come on", he said before running out.

They followed him as Oliver slowly made a path over to the other side. He avoided looking at the dead bodies around him. He couldn't see the General. "Mia, you've seen the pictures of the General too. Do you see him around here?" he asked over his shoulder

Mia loaded another trick arrow on her bow. "No. I can't see him anywhere."

"We'll find him, Oliver. He has to be here somewhere." Bart assured him

Yeah. Hopefully. "I know", he said, looking around. The only way to find the General is to see every single person here. There were dead bodies covering the ground- there was a chance that one of these bodies could be the General next. Oliver wasn't going to take that chance; this was the one solid lead that he had left. He wasn't about to let that slip through his fingers. They had to find him fast.

There was a child soldier headed towards them. The kid was shooting blindly. Good thing his aim was crap. Oliver quickly took out his gun and took a shot. Nothing happened. He was out of ammo. Shit.

He pushed Mia behind him and pulled out her crossbow out from her side before shooting out a tranquilizer dart.

"Nice", Bart said, impressed as Oliver folded up the crossbow and handed it back to Mia.

He couldn't help but smile at the remark. It had been a long time since he had been the Green Arrow. But now wasn't the time to brag. "We have to keep moving. The sooner we find him, the faster we can get the hell out of here."

"And if he isn't even here?" Mia asked

That was when he saw General Sam Lane out of the corner of his eye, fighting off a group of child soldiers. He didn't seem to have changed too much from the pictures. He was covered in dirt, and there was a nasty bruise forming on his cheek, but there he was.

Oliver knew that Bart and Mia were following his trail of vision. "That him?" Bart asked

He nodded silently. "I'm going to need to borrow your compound bow again", he told Mia.

"I can do it, Oliver. You trained me yourself", she insisted.

"Mia."

She let out a sigh, and handed him the compound bow. He removed the taser arrow she had loaded, and pulled out an arrow with a small container of knock out gas. The gas would be released through the impact.

He loaded the arrow, and pulled back the bowstring. He waited for the opportune moment, but it was difficult with all of the fighting going on. There was an entire group on the General, and like before, they had abandoned their weapons and resolved to knocking the man down and punching. He kept the bowstring back.

"Oliver", he heard Mia's voice.

"I got it." He told her

Oliver heard footsteps, and then Bart's voice. "He knows what he's doing."

Oliver shot out the arrow, and heard the whirring noise from the arrow as it was released. He watched as the children fell to the ground. The General didn't get up from the ground. The knockout gas worked on him too. He shot out another knock out gas arrow so that a small path could be cleared.

They ran over to the General. "Bart, can you bring him back?" he asked

Bart nodded. "I'll be back for you guys." He said before speeding off with the man.

Oliver threw the compound bow back to Mia. "I could have handled it, you know", she told him.

"I wanted to do it." He answered

There was a large group of children that seemed to spot them in the corner. They were surrounding them all. Oliver pulled out Mia's crossbow, and they stood back to back. He reached out behind him, and grabbed a handful of darts from the quiver resting on her back. "We just have to fend off these guys until Bart comes back. Hit the guys that are the closest to you, and take the arrow back. We don't want to leave behind any evidence that we were here."

"Okay", Mia answered.

"You ready?" he asked

"Yeah."

"Let's go", he said before shooting out a tranquilizer dart. He ran over to the falling body, and pulled out the dart before turning around quickly and reaching out for the child that was coming closer. He threw the kid onto the ground and punched him before he was knocked unconscious.

He kept an eye on Mia, shooting the child soldiers behind her while trying to fend them off on his own end. He turned his back on her to wrestle a gun out of a kid's hands and hit him over the head with his own rifle.

He turned back to where Mia was standing a couple of minutes ago, but he couldn't see her. "Mia?" he called out before running over to where she was. "Come on, Mia, this isn't funny", he said again before shooting out another tranquilizer dart.

There were so many of them, but Oliver kept his eyes peeled for Mia. She wasn't on the ground. Where the hell was she?

A hand grabbed his shoulder, and before he could turn around and react, he was gone.


	36. Chapter 36

A/N: I don't abandon anything.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 83

He closed his eyes for a second, afraid of both the inevitable nausea and the possibility of failure. That either the General ran off or Mia was left behind.

Oliver took a deep breath. If the General ran off, he couldn't have gone very far, and if Mia had been left behind, he would be able to go back to find her. It wasn't too late to go back- it couldn't be.

He slowly opened his eyes, and saw Mia on the red couch next to the General's body. The sight of the two of them led Oliver to let out the breath he didn't even realize that he had been holding. They were all safe- all alive.

He watched as Mia rolled the General over to his side before pulling something out of him. The man convulsed for a moment before settling back into his slumber. Mia reached for the white hand towel draped over the arm of the couch and wiped the blood off of the arrowhead. Taser arrow.

"I figured it would buy us more time to clean up a little bit. You know what they say about first impressions", Bart said from behind him.

Oliver looked at Bart before glancing down at himself. While Bart was completely free from the dirt and grime, he was covered in it. But he had a change of clothes in his duffel bag, a clean white shirt and everything.

He knew why Bart had Mia shoot the General with that taser arrow. To buy him time to come up with a plan. "Mind if I use your shower?"

Bart gestured in the direction of the bathroom. "Knock yourself out."

Oliver nodded silently before grabbing his duffel bag from behind the couch and walking over to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He set the bag down on the floor and caught the sight of himself in the mirror.

There were dark circles underneath his eyes and a bruise that was forming quickly on his left cheek. His fingernails were slightly stained with the blood that came with retracting arrows from bodies that had fallen.

He took off his shirt and coughed as the dust scattered around the room. His body was littered with the scars of his past, the clean areas of skin only an indication of places that would be marred in the future.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the gun that he had been using, resting it on the counter. He stared at it for a moment. This was the evidence. Last time, it was a toy bomb. This time, there was nobody else to take the blame for what he had done- it was all on him.

He removed the rest of his clothing and stepped into the shower, turning on the water. He winced as the water came into contact with some of the cuts on his arms.

He could almost feel the touch of cotton on his arm. "I thought you said it didn't hurt."

I lied.

He still had no idea how the General was going to magically trust a perfect stranger with the location of his niece. From the outside, it must have looked like everything was perfectly under control. He was used to controlled missions. This was the farthest thing from controlled, and Oliver hated that.

He wondered just how much the General knew about what Chloe used to do on a daily basis, and what she was planning. But did anybody really know Chloe in the end?

He remembered something that Clark said to him a long time ago. "She doesn't know what Chloe does- at this point, she knows Chloe as well as her sister does!"

Oliver reached for the open bottle of shampoo, and squeezed the gel out onto his hand before applying it to his hair. He hadn't forgotten Bart's assumption that Clark was here in Kenya with him. That's how it should have been.

He closed his eyes as soapy water travelled down from his hair to his face. He heard Chloe's voice from that USB video in his head. "Well, family to family, your sense of safety is more important than reliability."

Safety was more important to her than reliability. Safety…

His jaw clenched as a different voice entered his mind. "Make that article disappear, and you'll be a free woman."

Lex. Relax, Lex can't hurt anybody anymore. He was dead.

"Too ashamed to admit that you were really responsible for killing Lex Luthor? YOU DIDN'T THINK TWICE BEFORE BLAMING ME FOR IT!"

Oliver touched a hand to the back of his neck, and massaged it gently before he reached for a bar of soap and started scrubbing. Lex was gone, Toyman was gone. They were all gone. His parents, the family that murdered them, and Toyman. They were all gone. Even Chloe.

He stood directly underneath the water, lines from Chloe's old articles from the Torch and Daily Planet running through his mind. Make that article disappear. Even Lex knew that Chloe had the ability of making knowledge disappear and appear at will. Incriminating knowledge, useful knowledge, she had a handle of it all.

"I was hoping that another Lane could find her. Even if she's a Sullivan by marriage."

As well as her sister does. Another Lane could find her. Her- Lucy.

Chloe was able to find Lucy, even if she was off of the grid. Which meant that before, Lucy wiped herself. She knew how to do it- she didn't disappear because Chloe made it that way like the others did. Which meant that both women knew how to find other people who were off of the grid.

Oliver didn't know much about the General's personality, and before today, he had never met the man, even if he had a past with his eldest daughter. But he did know two things- that he hated almost everybody, and that he was almost unnaturally patriotic.

Oliver shut off the water, and reached for a towel. How on earth was he going to convince a loyal man to give a complete stranger the location of his daughter, when he was really trying to look for his niece?

He dried off and dressed quickly, hoping that Bart had some sort of backup plan in case he didn't. But when Oliver opened the bathroom door and stepped out, he saw the hopeful look on his face.

Bart had grown a lot- from what he had seen, the entire team had since Doomsday. Bart was just a little kid when he had met him, stealing food for his own survival. He had changed quickly when Oliver had started up the team. Chloe told him years ago that it was because he had met Clark in Smallville prior. The desire to change was always in him.

Where Oliver believed that Clark trusted in humanity blindly, Bart looked to the man for a moral compass. But the glance of hope that Bart gave him proved otherwise. It reminded Oliver that although Clark had met him first, he was the one who gave Bart opportunity.

And while Clark had fed him for a couple of nights before Bart went on his own way, Oliver gave him a place to live, a team to trust, and a way to provide for himself. While Clark planted the idea of honesty in his head, Oliver gave Bart the option of living honestly.

And although he couldn't have helped Bart without Clark's initial assistance, Oliver could see that it wasn't Clark that he was looking for now. Bart wasn't looking behind him, or glancing at the door, waiting for Clark to speed in and fix things. He was looking straight ahead, and Oliver wasn't going to let him down.

Oliver took a deep breath, and looked at the General. He didn't hit him with that arrow, and because of that, he had no idea when the man would wake up. And if the General's patriotism matched his file, then he probably held the same opinion of heroes as most of the papers. That they were vigilantes.

He looked at Bart, who was sitting on the arm of the couch, and then looked at his own clean clothing. And then he spotted Mia on the couch, still in her red leather. She didn't have a change of clothing here, and if the General saw her, there was no telling what he would do to her. The main priority was finding Chloe, but not at the risk of anybody else. She wouldn't have wanted that, and Oliver wouldn't be able to forgive himself. Too many innocent lives were lost tonight.

"Mia, can you go get him a glass of water or something for when he wakes up?" he asked

"He's not even up yet."

Oliver shot Bart a look, and gestured towards the duffel bag that was now filled with dirty clothing.

Bart got up from the arm of the chair, and slowly backed up behind the couch and Mia before speeding out of the room. Oliver waited for a second before he saw the flash of red sped into the kitchen and then back to where he was standing before.

"You know what?" Bart asked "I'll go with you, Mia. I think there's some pizza in the fridge, and I'm starving."

Mia gave Oliver and questioning look. "Go", he gestured towards the kitchen. "I'm not going to let him out of my sight."

She got up and the two of them walked over to the kitchen as Oliver reached for Mia's quiver and hid it in the bathroom, looking over his shoulder every couple of seconds and making sure that he didn't hear any motion other than his own.

He sat back down at the couch, beside the General's sleeping body, and stared at the floor. He had no idea what to do with this man.

He sat rooted in his seat, contemplating how he was going to even start a conversation with the guy for ten minutes. And then suddenly, the body shot up, and Oliver felt a hand wrap around his throat.


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Days without Chloe Sullivan: Still 83

Oliver felt his head slam against the side of the couch as his air supply cut off. "What do you want from me?" The General hissed

Okay, this was no time to panic. He had been strangled before and gotten out of it, and he would again. Panicking wouldn't help him right now. "Relax", he started, trying to keep his voice steady. "One of the...good guys", he sputtered.

"I find that hard to believe", the General said, applying more pressure. Oliver wasn't really in a conversational mood right now. It was time to level the playing field. He curled his right hand into a fist and punched the guy in the nose.

Oliver took the split second that the General was distracted to place his hands on the couch and kick his legs up until he did a flip over the couch. He stood up and massaged his neck. Much better. "I brought you here and saved your life. A thank you would be nice."

The General sat up from the couch and narrowed his eyes at Oliver. "You kidnapped me. There's a difference. I'll ask again as a last warning. What do you want from me?"

There wasn't going to be any playing nice with this guy. No sparkling conversation or cup of tea. Oliver's eyes darted in the general direction of the kitchen. There wasn't a sound coming from there. He was on his own, and he had a feeling that the only way to get an answer from the General was to beat him at his own physical game.

Bring it. "Funny, I didn't realize that I was dealing with a kid", Oliver said before dodging a punch. Oliver tried to punch back, but his fist only came in contact with the man's arm. Oliver kicked the man, but the General caught his foot and slammed him down on the floor.

"I've been serving the United States for a long time. You're going to have to do better than that."

Oliver brought the other leg up and attached both of his feet to the General's neck, tightening his grip. But the idea wasn't to kill the General. Only to force the man to respect him enough to give up the location of either his youngest daughter or his niece. Either/or- he wasn't picky.

He tried to bring the General down to the floor on his level, but the man was too large in comparison and Oliver found himself lifted up higher every second that the General was lowered. When the General got close enough, Oliver smacked his head onto the General and let go.

The two men separated and staggered in getting up before circling around each other. "Am I doing better now?" Oliver asked "I'm really hoping to get some sort of golden star for my achievements. Or is that a purple heart? Shapes and colors- I get them confused sometimes."

He wanted to get the man riled up. Because he wanted to find some sort of way to bring his family into the conversation. It didn't look like the General had recognized him. Oliver wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"You would, pretty boy", the General growled before running towards him. Right when he was about to jump and tackle Oliver to the ground, he rolled out of the way, colliding with Bart's table and snapping it in two.

Oliver held a foot over the man's back and added some pressure. "Well, now that you're just lying there, maybe you can help me with something. I'm looking for someone that I think you know very well. Her name is Chloe Sullivan. Sound familiar?"

"I have no idea who you're talking about", Sam Lane said.

"Now, I don't believe that, Sam." He started, placing a little bit more pressure on the man's spine. "You've been fighting in a battle field with child soldiers all night. You're tired, and so am I. Let's be honest with each other, shall we?"

The General started fidgeting for something in his pocket, probably a gun that Mia and Bart took away from him earlier. "I got rid of your little toys." No need to bring in his friends in the kitchen. "You're her Uncle Sam. I know that and you know that. She's my friend, and I'm trying to find her."

"I find that hard to believe."

"Yeah?" Oliver removed his foot from the man's back and held out a hand. "No guns, no fighting, no running away. Just talking."

The General looked at Oliver's hand before taking it. Right before Oliver could pull him up, the General pulled him down, shot up from the floor, and ran straight for the window.

Oliver got up and ran after him blindly, forgetting that they were on the second floor and that it was the middle of the night in the middle of Africa. He saw the General run out through the emergency window and followed right after him, rolling on the floor and picking himself up before running.

He was bruised all over from getting the General to this point, and would be more bruised later. But there was no way in hell that he was just going to let Sam Lane go. He sprinted after the figure, trying not to lose him in the darkness. There were no street lights in this area like there were in Metropolis and Star City, nothing other than movement in shadows to distinguish the night from the man he was chasing. He wasn't equipped with his night vision classes and there was no voice in his ear. But he kept running.

There was a whooshing noise, and a hand on his shoulder pulling him back. "Need a hand?"

He turned around and saw Bart. He breathed a sigh of relief. "He ran", he breathed. "I don't know it that's him or not", he pointed vaguely into the distance. "I think he's right...there."

Bart smiled and gripped his shoulder. "Hold on."

There was a flash of red, and the next thing he knew, the General was running right into him. The two men fell on the ground and Bart sped to the side, observing the tangled sight in front of him. "I was always good at bowling", Oliver heard him say. "That's a strike, my friend."

And now, there was terror on the General's face. He backed away from the two of them. "Who are you people?"

"I told you. We're friends. Why don't we go back, talk." Oliver said.

"Where did he come from?" Sam asked, gesturing towards Bart.

"He's with me. If you're willing to listen, we have a bit of a story to tell."

"I'm not going anywhere with you people", the General said, getting up. "Stay away from me."

He got up and tried to run away.

"Chloe's missing." Oliver called out.

The General froze. It looked like he didn't know that. Okay, that got rid of the possibility of him knowing where Chloe was. But if Lucy did, then not everything was a complete waste.

Oliver walked over to him, knowing that Bart was there in case he tried to make a run for it again. "Chloe left Metropolis and I've been scouring the globe looking for her. I don't know if she's safe or not, and the only way for me to do that is to find her. If she's safe and wants to be left alone, then I'll back off. But I need to know. Your daughter might know something. And I know that at the very least, you know where she is."

"Lois lived with Chloe. If you know my niece at all, you know that."

"You have two daughters, sir."

The General touched the chain around his neck and shook his head. "I'm not telling you where Lucy is. She's being protected. If Lucy knows something, then Chloe's fine. She would be with family."

"She was with family in Metropolis and Dark Thursday happened. She lived with her father all throughout high school in Metropolis and she still wasn't completely safe." Oliver reasoned.

"Chloe's still a Lane. She can take care of herself."

"She's the strongest person that I've known. But you can't deny that she gets herself into trouble sometimes", Bart said, stepping forward. The General backed up a step.

"You're one of those people that she wrote about, aren't you?" Sam asked Bart "The meteor infected who terrorized her."

"I'm one of the meta-humans. Chloe ran a foundation in order to help people like me." Bart told him

"You people are unnatural. You take advantage of kind souls like Chloe's because she just wanted to help."

"She did help", a voice called out.

Oliver turned around to see Mia trudging around irritated, barefoot and wearing an oversized t-shirt.

"What, forget about me?" she asked before punching Oliver in the face

Okay, ouch. "What was that for?" he asked

"Oh, please." he heard her scoff before she turned to the General. "Forget these two buffoons. You and I? We're going to talk. Don't worry, no crazy powers here."

"What makes you think that I can trust you?" Sam asked

She gestured towards Oliver. "This guy started throwing you around the place, and this guy?" she gestured towards Bart. "We both know you're not going to trust because of what he can do. The reason why is beyond me. I'm just here in a t-shirt. I'm not even wearing shoes. Can't harm a fly. We're going to have a little chat."

Oliver suddenly felt very uneasy. What was she doing? "Mia?"

"Shhh" she hushed loudly. "What do you say?" she asked

"Just you?" The General asked "Nobody else?"

"Mia, what are you doing?" he asked, noticing Bart crossing his arms stubbornly.

"Just me." She confirmed

"Okay", Sam Lane said, walking out a little bit.

Oliver rushed over to Mia and held her back. "What are you doing?" he hissed

"I need you to trust me, Oliver."

"I do trust you, that's not the problem here. I don't think you get how important this is."

"Seriously? 20 minutes. That's all I'm asking for."

"If he tries to hurt you..." he started

"Then I'll be fine. Give me this one, Oliver. Come on."

Mia was a closed off teenager, scared and alone when he met her. When did she grow up? Where was he when that happened?

He felt her staring him down, and had no choice other than to stuff his hands in his pocket and nod his head. "We'll keep an eye out. If anything weird happens and you can't take care of it, I want you to scream, okay?"

"I'll be fine."

This was his only lead, and there it went with Mia running after him. He had no idea if she was going to succeed or not. And he had no idea what she was going to do, if he could guide her somehow and help do it better.

"Hard, isn't it?" Bart asked, distracting him from his thoughts.

"What?"

"It's hard, not being completely in control. You can't control everything, you know. And neither could Chloe."

"If she screws this up..." Oliver started.

"Do you remember 33.1?" Bart asked

How could he forget? "Of course."

"Do you remember ever asking me if I could run somewhere? Doubting if I could get in and out of somewhere?"

"Bart, you're faster than Clark is."

"Of course I am", Bart said smugly. "The point is that you never doubted me. And it's because you trust me. And even when everything was falling apart during Doomsday and Clark almost forced you out of that Barn, you knew on some level that we were going to be on your side."

"Which was a mistake", Oliver corrected.

"The point is that you trusted us implicitly. Whenever Chloe followed you in a facility or on a patrol, you followed her instructions to the t. You never hesitated. Why don't you trust Mia on that level yet?" Bart asked

"Because she's just a kid!" Oliver defended "She hasn't been doing this for very long- she's not completely confident in her abilities with a bow and arrow yet."

"Funny, that looked like confidence", Bart said, keeping an eye on her. "Looks like you."


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 83.5

Oliver watched the two of them for what felt like years until the General handed her something. They shook hands and the General walked away, reaching in his pocket for a cell phone and bringing it to his ear. He was probably calling for transportation from his location to his base.

Oliver ran over to Mia, who had pocketed something or another. "You let him leave?" He asked, confused. "Do you know where Lucy is?"

She shook her head. No? What did she mean, no? "Not yet, but we will." She answered

What the hell did that mean? "What do you mean, not yet?" he asked, slowly, feeling the anxiety wash over him. Mia better have some good information here. He tried to prevent the anxiety from taking over him completely.

"His daughter is in witness protection", Mia explained. "Has been for years. He wasn't exactly going to give up her location to a complete stranger."

He couldn't believe this. His one and only solid lead, and she just let him walk away? Now, what were they going to do? They had to do something, they couldn't just stand here in the middle of Africa 83.5 days into his four months. They had nothing left anymore. No other leads. He might as well just hop on a ship and wander around the ocean aimlessly.

The general didn't want to give Lucy's location to a complete stranger. Right. He wasn't a complete stranger. Chloe randomly found him once and told him to steal a Kryptonian generator for her so that she could bust Clark out of some sort of alien Alcatraz that she called the Phantom Zone. He did it without question, having no idea that tapping into the generator would cause her eyes to go white and push him into the other room and knock him unconscious. Random strangers didn't go through that.

"We're not complete strangers!" He exclaimed as he started pacing. "Did you tell him that? Did you tell him that Bart and I worked closely with Chloe for years? Did you tell him that I was living out life like I had a death wish and Chloe brought me back to Earth? Did you tell him that?"

If he had talked to the General instead of Mia, they could have a definitive location by now. They could be on the way somewhere at this point. "He acted like I had never met Chloe before. That's not what happened. We worked together for years", he grumbled.

Bart sped over to where he was pacing and suddenly took him by the shoulders to keep him from moving. "I know. And it was rude, but it wasn't going to work anyway."

"What are you talking about?"

"He wasn't going to give you a location directly no matter how hard you tried", Bart said, still keeping him grounded.

"You don't know that", Oliver said stubbornly.

"Actually, I do." Bart said, letting go of him. "Do you remember 2 years ago? 33.1 in Brazil?"

Brazil. Maybe Chloe was in Brazil? Maybe she was bouncing around old 33.1 sites in countries all over the world? It could be a lead. It could be something.

"Do you think Chloe's in Brazil?" He asked. "I don't remember if Brazil's on the map of possible locations."

There was a large snapping noise in Oliver's face. "Pay attention", Bart said. "33.1 in Brazil. 2 years ago."

Oliver tried to remember back to the 33.1 facility in Brazil. 2 years ago, huh? That was a hell of a long time ago. It felt like almost a lifetime ago. But he remembered the mission, and he cringed as the memories came.

***Flash***

He was just outside of the door when he heard Chloe's voice in his ear. "Oh my god."

"What's wrong?" he asked

"I just checked to make sure that everyone got out. There's a wavering heat signature still left. I think it's in the freezer."

Oliver turned around and looked at the fork ahead of him. "East or west wing?"

"West, but don't worry about it. I'll have Impulse take care of it."

Oliver was already running in the direction of the freezer. "I'm right there. I'll grab the subject and go."

"No. Arrow, this place is already loaded with bombs. They're going to blow in 30 seconds. Impulse can be in and out in 5. Don't go in there."

"I've got this. I can already see the freezer. Make sure the rest of the team is out."

"Oliver-"

"Switching over to silent running", he said as he threw open the door, spotting the girl immediately. She was sitting in a fetal position, rubbing her hands over her arms, teeth chattering, and asking desperately for her mother.

Oliver ignored the plea for now, scooped her up, and ran out of the facility 2 seconds before the building went up in flames. After he got an address out of the traumatized girl in front of him and returned her to her mother, he got back on his motorcycle and sped over to the hotel that they were all staying at.

The instant he opened the door of his hotel room, Bart sped over to him and punched him in the face.

"Bart!" Chloe exclaimed in surprise

"What? Do you blame me? He almost got himself killed!"

"I was fine. Not a scratch on me", Oliver answered, rubbing his jaw gently. "Can't say that's the case right now though", he added.

"Yeah, and there wouldn't have been a scratch on you if you got blown up with the building. You would have just blended in with the rubble", Bart told him.

"I got out of there before the building exploded."

"Barely. Chloe wanted me to go in and out. It just makes more sense."

"Well, I got it. Just because I'm human doesn't mean that I can't do a simple in and out job."

"Nobody ever said that you couldn't. We play to our strengths, Oliver. You know that. That's why I try to break into computer systems and Victor doesn't decide to just swim across the English Channel to get around."

"I try not to either", AC called out from the couch. "It gets a bit too cold for my taste sometimes."

"Oh please, the English Channel's like a two second swim for you", Victor called out from behind his laptop.

"The point", Bart continued, "is that we don't dive into waters we can't handle."

"Well, obviously I could handle this one", Oliver said, getting angry now.

"It was reckless and you know it. You should have let me handle it. I would have gotten out well before the place went kaput."

"Relax, both of you", Chloe said, placing herself in the middle and holding her arms out. "Bart, you know that Oliver wouldn't have put himself in that building again if he wasn't completely confident that he could get out of it alive. Giving him boundaries and telling him what he can't handle isn't going to end well. You might as well quit before you even begin."

Oliver gave a triumphant smile. And then Chloe turned to face him. "And you, what the hell were you thinking, going in recklessly like that? I told you right then and there that Impulse could handle it. I gave you plenty of reasoning behind the decision. You need to stop making it a personal goal of yours to try and prove yourself to everyone. You don't have to, you never have. Let it be, and next time when I tell you that Bart can handle a job, let him do it. That's why it's a team."

He and Bart mumbled and grumbled to themselves before Chloe let go. "Now, you can all stop blaming each other at any time, now. Because we all know that I should have found the heat signature earlier on the computers. I gave both of you a time crunch."

"What are you talking about?" He and Bart both asked.

"If you hadn't sent someone over a second time, an innocent little girl would have died. You saved her life", Oliver told her.

"Exactly. You tricked out the image and found the faded heat signature. I never would have been able to do that."

"It wasn't fast enough. I don't know", she said, shrugging her shoulders. "I've just had a lot on my mind recently." She walked over to the table and picked up her cup of coffee. "There ended up being two Clarks last week- one was the real one and another was an evil phantom named Bizarro who looked just like Clark but was really an evil Kryptonian who could fly."

"Well, that just sounds..." Bart started, trailing off.

"Bizarre", Oliver finished with a laugh. "Two Clarks, huh? And the other one was airborne? Why can't Clark fly again?"

Chloe sighed. "I have no idea. It's hard to do, I imagine. Flying, it's kind of big."

"Or maybe he doesn't think that he can. When I first met him, he didn't think that he could run on water." Bart said.

"Yeah, well, I still think it's odd that you can run on water", she replied.

"I wonder if I could teach the guy to fly", Oliver mused. "I have my own jet, and a license to fly it, you know. Maybe if he can fly one thing, he can..."

"What, grow wings?" Bart said, jokingly

"I don't think wings are part of the package", Chloe said with a smile. "I don't see him being able to blend in well." She turned to the table. "Pizza? I ordered it while you guys were out."

***End Flash***

"I remember yelling and pizza. Care to enlighten me?" Oliver asked

"What are you guys talking about?" Mia asked, raising an eyebrow

"Chloe said over pizza that at least Clark liked us, even if he didn't want to join the team. And that was more than she could say for her uncle, who only liked one man, who was some kid that Lois grew up with", Bart said. "Now if my history's correct, that one person's long gone. I don't think that he was going to trust you enough to give you the location of his daughter no matter what you tried. If he gave Mia some sort of clue, then we shouldn't give up yet."

"Fair enough", Oliver said, taking a deep breath and turning to Mia. "What did he give you?"

She stuck a hand in her pocket and pulled something out. "This", she said, pulling out a chain and handing it off to Oliver. "I'm guessing that Lucy bought it for him recently, at some local store."

"We can track down the serial number and narrow down jewelry stores until we get a credit card company", Oliver said excitedly.

"And if she paid in cash?" Mia asked

"We can get some sort of address from the owners, I'm sure of it", he said, pocketing the necklace. "Where's the jet?" he asked "We don't have a lot of time to waste."

"Maybe we should wait a couple of hours to get on that", she answered, glancing at her watch. "It's late, the pilot's going to kill us. Maybe sleep for a little bit and then go?"

"There's no way I'm getting any sleep after this. And I have to track down our pilot- I don't think there's any chance that he's just been hanging out in the jet for the past couple of days."

"So you're paying him for a little African vacation? You saw the soldiers here, he could be in trouble."

"He wouldn't have gone very far", Oliver insisted. "Quick track down, a couple of hours at most if I got bored and felt like seeing exactly what he's been up to."

The both turned to walk in the other direction and come up with some sort of plan. Bart sped in front of them. "Stop", he said, holding up a hand.

"What?" They both asked

"First of all, you're just going to run around Africa. You haven't slept in a while and you definitely haven't eaten anything."

"There's no time for that", Oliver reasoned. "We need to find a location before Lucy moves."

"She's in witness protection. She's safe, and not going anywhere."

"We're running out of time."

"What makes you think that Lucy's even going to know anything about where Chloe is?"

"She's off the radar", Oliver said. "She was off the radar at one point, and Chloe found her. Chloe's off the radar, I think Lucy can help find her."

"Do you know anything about Lucy?" Bart asked

"She's Lois' sister."

"Yeah, and the General is Chloe's uncle. That still didn't help you any. He didn't give you a straight answer. He could be leading you into danger, Oliver. You have no idea what he's trying to do."

"He's not lying", Mia interrupted. "I know he isn't."

"Have you come across this guy before? Do you know how he operates?" Bart asked her

Mia was silent for a moment.

"What do you think we should do then?" Oliver asked. "Just sit around here and do nothing?"

"No, I'm telling you to think about this before you just fly around looking for her. Because you can't just start beating the crap out of each other like you did tonight. It's not going to work. And you can't use your usual default option of handling women."

Oliver looked at him, confused. "What's my usual default option?"

"Charm the pants off of them. Quite literally."

Oliver started laughing. He hadn't done that in ages. "I'll just talk to her, then. Simple."

"I'm just saying that coming up with a strategy might not be a bad idea", Bart told him.

"I get it", Oliver said. "Here's a better question- are you staying here, or are you coming with us?"

"Planes are slow", Bart complained. "I have a revised plan. Come back to my apartment, tinker around, track down your pilot, maybe eat some breakfast or get some rest", he emphasized that last part. "I'll tie up some loose ends while you guys are in the air. Let me know when you land, and I'll run over there. Only take a couple of seconds."

"Seconds?" Mia asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Like I said, I'm fast." Mia kept an eye on Bart. "But not too fast", Bart said quickly.

Oliver watched Mia grow pink. "Right", he said, interrupting. "Let's get back to your apartment."


	39. Chapter 39

Erase, Chapter Thirty-Nine

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 85

It felt crowded. Oliver was sitting at Chloe's desk at Watchtower, Bart and Mia looking over each shoulder as he zoomed into the pictures that he took of the necklace clasp with his Green Arrow sunglasses on the main computer.

"There's a serial number", he muttered to himself before running the number through the database. "I hope it's unique. If it's not, we're screwed."

"How long is it going to take?" Bart asked

"Hard to say", Oliver said, getting up from the chair and walking over to his room of information on Chloe. "I can knock out some of the cities that I've visited. Mind you, I wasn't looking for Lucy Lane and I haven't been wandering around stores."

"I hope not", Bart said, following him. "That would be...whoa", he stopped short as he stepped into the room.

"What? Did I miss something?" Oliver asked

"It's alright", Mia said, reassuring Bart. "Happens to me all the time."

What was going on? "What happens to you all the time?"

"You realize how ridiculous this looks, right?" Bart said. "You know, from the outside. This isn't how you usually operate."

"This isn't?" Mia asked "Could have fooled me."

"It's just a projection of what we already know", Oliver said distracted, booting up the computer he had in there. "Didn't want to forget anything."

"Right", Bart said uncomfortably.

This place really wasn't a big deal. Oliver couldn't see why Bart thought that this was ridiculous.

"I haven't been a slouch for the past 85 days. I've been working. This is how I've been doing it."

"85?"

Oliver ignored him and started typing on the computer. "I need to update the system with Kenya. We found the General, but Chloe wasn't with him. And hopefully, he wasn't lying and keeping her somewhere."

"Oh my god", Mia grumbled.

"What?" Oliver asked, turning his head towards her quickly before turning back to the keyboard.

"He wasn't lying."

"He could have been. He's a General, been one for a long time."

"Look, I get that you're mad at me for not getting the exact location. You don't have to be so bitter about it."

"I'm not mad at you, Mia."

"You're not? Is that why you wouldn't even let me use my own arrow to knock him out before Bart came around and brought everyone back to his place?"

He didn't realize that it bothered her. He just wanted to get the job done. Just like he wanted to update the system with the coordinates of where he had been over the past couple of days "I've been doing this a long time. Longer than you have."

"You barely suit up anymore!"

"I got the job done, didn't I? And with a bulls-eye, might I add", Oliver said, still typing.

"You're constantly glued to these computers."

"Needs to be done." He said focusing on the screens and barely listening to her.

"Will you just..." Mia trailed off

"What happened to you?" Bart asked softly

But Oliver wasn't listening. The only thing that he could think about right now was that it was 85 days since Chloe left as of three hours ago. He had five days until it was the fourth month, the month that her memory would be gone.

He had no way of knowing whether it would happen at the beginning of the fourth month, the middle, or right before month number five. He knew that the only way to track down Lucy Lane was to make another database, one that targeted jewelry stores. He didn't have one right now, and it was the only for the serial number to make any sense.

It would mean starting completely from scratch either way. He could either start completely from scratch, give up on Lucy Lane, and try to keep blindly searching for Chloe, or he could start the database, potentially fail, and stick with the one lead he had left.

He wanted to talk to Bart and Mia about it, but he couldn't. He was supposed to know what he was doing- Mia looked up to him as if he was her father and Bart saw him as a team leader. He didn't want to let them down, couldn't let them down.

He wanted to call Victor so that he could help create a database, but the truth was that Victor didn't know the system anymore. Oliver made too many changes, and even though Victor was half computer, he didn't want to waste time explaining things to him. This was all on him.

There was one thought that kept popping up in his mind, and he hated just how much he was thinking about it.

What would Chloe do?

He couldn't help but think that she would know what to do. She always came up with some weird way of using technology to come up with some sort of clue that would push along the team when things went wrong.

85 days and he was still walking around blind. This wasn't his job, he wasn't Watchtower. He was Green Arrow, he had an earpiece plugged in with a voice telling him where to go when things went south, this wasn't a planned mission at all.

This wasn't how he usually operated, and Bart was right for telling him that. But not helpful in the least.

What would Chloe do? How would she progress with this if she knew that there was a chance for failure?

Bought insurance for the planet.

He had no sense of insurance right now. No guarantee for success, and even though he knew that the entire time, it didn't seem so blatantly obvious until this point. 5 days until things had no guarantee.

"Why isn't he saying anything?" Bart asked

Oliver didn't listen, just moved to create another program. Trying to complete both projects at the same time wasn't going to get him anywhere. He knew on some level that he was going to chase down Lucy Lane all along.

It was logical. It was what the real Watchtower would do.

"He's making more software", Mia said. "He's not going to pay attention to anything that you say until it's done."

A lot of jewelry stores had chains. That, he could count on. It was the local little family owned stores that were going to give him problems. If this necklace was a recent gift, which he hoped it was, then the serial number meant that he could find something digitally.

He hoped that Lucy didn't pay for the present in cash. Cash was untraceable. Wherever she was, hopefully she wasn't bouncing around from place to place. Because an old address wouldn't get him very far. He needed something solid.

"What do we do in the meantime?"

Mia shrugged. "Keep the fridge stocked? Make sure Metropolis stays safe on patrol in the meantime?"

"What if he needs me to go somewhere?"

"He'll either call or hop on a plane somewhere. Let's hope he learns his lesson and calls, otherwise I'm just going to punch him again." Oliver heard Mia let out a sigh. He felt bad, he really did. But if he was going to track down Lucy Lane, it needed to be as soon as humanly possible. And accurately, too. There was no time for distractions.

Chloe was out there somewhere, and he was going to tear apart the planet looking for her.

Mia started walking away, and then the footsteps stopped. "You coming?" she asked Bart

Oliver watched out of the corner of his eye as Bart shook his head. Mia nodded, and left.

"She doesn't know, does she?" Bart asked five minutes later.

"Know what?" Oliver asked as he typed, scrolling down to take a look at addresses.

"That this isn't the first time that you've gone on a rampage to find her."

"Yeah, well..." he muttered

"It wasn't your fault then, and it isn't now. And I'll help you in any way that I can, Oliver."

"I'm going to need your help", he admitted, wanting to tell Bart that he didn't know everything. "You might have to speed around to different parts of the globe to check for files at any given moment."

"Are you sure Lane's daughter knows where Chloe is?"

He wanted to lie, the words slipped out."Not at all."

Bart nodded before speeding over to the printer. "Want me to break in and get the serial numbers of these addresses?"

"No, wait on it for a little bit. I want to see if I can break in and do a serial number match here before running around."

"I'll fuel up. Be right back."


	40. Chapter 40

Erase, Chapter Forty

The clock stuck midnight, and Oliver looked up from the computer screen that he was working on, knowing exactly what it all meant.

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 91

He stopped typing, stopped wondering when Bart was going to get back from the trip of London that he sent him on a couple of hours ago to scour hundreds of European jewelry stores without digital databases to tap into, stopped marking off country after country, continent after continent.

He walked into the room where he had his own personal Wall of Weird look-alike, and sat down on the floor, staring at the picture in the middle.

There were pictures all over the room, of her friends and family over the years. Small pictures of known meta-humans and meteor infected students from Smallville High School when he was trying to find someone with memory erasing abilities. But he fixed his eyes on the middle of the room, at the seventeen year old girl with flipped out blonde hair.

He had let down that smile. He couldn't remember for the life of him whether he had ever truly seen Chloe smile like that in front of him when she was in Metropolis, but he let down the smile of the woman whose picture he constantly walked past on his way to the coffee machine or past different computers, or as he went up the stairs.

There were circles underneath his tired, red eyes, his hair was sticking up in every direction imaginable, and his usual clean-shaven look was replaced with a fifteen million o'clock shadow.

He used to wear pressed suits and now he was wearing a faded and wrinkled green collar shirt, the long sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The Rolex watch was replaced with a digital hologram of the time projected from one of the computers.

He hadn't thought about any of that until just now because he was so focused on the possibility of finishing in time. And now he hadn't.

He failed, and right now, he wanted nothing more than to just down glass after glass of the most expensive scotch he could find. The more it burned going down, the better it would be.

Mia had gone back to school days ago. She didn't want to, but she had taken enough days off, and she needed to go. She still had the key to his liquor cabinet.

He remembered telling Lois once that the Green Arrow thing was just a distraction. Was looking for Chloe a distraction from his life too? Is that what he was doing now? Hopping from distraction to distraction to only feel worse down the road? Why had she even bothered to save him all that time ago?

"Hey, don't you answer your phone?"

He registered the words, but not the voice. He was so convinced that Chloe was talking to him, that his head snapped to the side so fast that his neck let out a crack.

It wasn't Chloe. It wasn't even her gender. It was Bart.

"What?" he asked

"I asked if you answered your phone. I even called the Watchtower line when you didn't pick up your cell. What are you doing on the floor?" Bart asked "Get up, we have work to do."

"It's late, Bart. I only had four months." Oliver pointed at the world map that was stretched across one of the walls. There were push-pins scattered all over it. "We didn't even finish Europe."

"We don't need to." Bart walked up to the little desk, pulled out a drawer, and retrieved a box.

No, way. That wasn't...the green box, was it?

The wall was scattered with fifty million red pins, and then orange when they ran out of that color, yellow when they ran out of the orange.

He saved the green box. He never told Bart that he was saving the green box for when they had some solid leads, but there it was in his hand.

"Did we run out of the yellow?" He asked

"I found it. I thought you would want the honor of plugging in the address. Or at the very least, using your color."

"Bart, I swear, if you're kidding."

"No jokes, amigo. Even if I couldn't make the British guards laugh."

Oliver shot up from the floor. "You found Lucy Lane?" 

"Operation Little Soldier was a success."

Oliver rolled his eyes. "We never called it Operation anything." He took the box of push-pins. "So, London?"

"Central London. Twenty miles away from Heathrow Airport."

He took out a pushpin and stabbed the map on the wall with it. "Let's go."

"I remember telling you at one point that you needed to come up with a plan before you talk to her. At the very least change your clothes and take a shower."

"No time. Let's go."

"It's six in the morning London time. She's not going to want to talk to you at six in the morning."

No. He wasn't going to let Lucy become as elusive as Chloe was. If they had some sort of location, they needed to make sure that she was still there before she up and left. "If we wait a couple of hours, she'll leave the apartment to go to work or something. This way, we still have the element of surprise."

Oliver wanted to move out of the room so that they could get going. He needed to pack something or another before they went, but there wasn't much time. Normally, he had a duffel bag ready to go at any given moment, but he had been so busy at Watchtower that he hadn't stopped by the penthouse for a change of clothes, so he had been living out of the duffel bag.

His second duffel bag was still underwater from Cuba. He needed to make a stop by the penthouse before anything else, get the bare necessities. Twenty minutes tops and then they could go.

Before he could even get out of the room that he was in, however, he needed to get past Bart. Who was blocking his way out.

"What are you doing?" He asked

"I'll let you out of here on one condition."

Oliver rolled his eyes. "Thanks for your help Bart. You're a genius. Can we go now?"

"Well, it's always nice to be appreciated, but not what I meant." Bart said cheerfully.

"Bart", he started, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Take a shower, change your clothes, for God's sake, shave, and I'll have you across the Atlantic in five minutes flat. It's either that or you call your pilot and wait the hours upon hours that it'll take you to get there. And you'll stink and she won't want to let you in."

"Are we seriously having this conversation? You just found Lucy Lane."

"Have you smelled yourself recently?"

"I've never had complaints before", Oliver told him.

"Well, now you can say that you have. And eat something too, will you?"

"But Mo-oom" Oliver said mockingly, moving past Bart and going upstairs.

He could bend the rules. World's fastest shower and a power bar to go. Screw pleasantries and waiting to knock on the door at a reasonable time. The sleepier Lane's daughter was, the better. Maybe she would be so sleepy that she would give him the answers he was looking for without a lot of fuss.

If she didn't answer the door, he wasn't going to just turn around or wait outside. Time was all up in the air at this point.


	41. Chapter 41

Summary: After Chloe is found siphoning money from Oliver's company in order to purchase Kryptonite weapons, she realizes that she losing her sense of humanity. She decides that the only way to escape from who she is becoming is to erase her memories and start over. Oliver has 4 months to stop her before it's too late.

Spoilers: Up to Conspiracy, and then I write my own way.

Chapter Forty-One

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 91.5

Oliver found himself outside of a door, opening his eyes as he looked down at his feet. There were a million whirring sounds as guns loaded, small red spots reflecting from the door.

He didn't want to know how many guns were actually pointing at his body right now. "Bart?" he asked, looking up for a split second.

There weren't any people behind the guns. Just machines, black blurs as Bart grabbed his shoulder the instant they started firing at them.

They sped around in a circle as Oliver heard the constant shooting until the only thing that he could hear was the wind moving throughout his body. Suddenly, they were still, and Oliver didn't hear a thing.

There was no rushing wind in his ears, and the only evidence of guns being fired was the layer of bullets that they were standing on. He wanted to just stay there for a while, to catch his breath and let his stomach settle from the nausea that was hitting him now that he was stationary.

Instead, he turned to Bart, and looked him over to make sure that his friend hadn't taken any bullets for him. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

There was no blood, no wincing. Just crunching of bullets beneath his feet.

Oliver crouched down at the lock and pulled out a pick, feeling his hands shake as he tried to get the door open. It still felt like there was a gun about to fire any second.

"If you see anything", he said, concentrating on the lock. "You get out of here, understand?"

Oliver didn't wait for an answer, just kept working on the lock before the handle turned.

He opened the door and took out his own gun. "Keep a lookout", he said to Bart as he stepped through the threshold.

"You think she's hiding something?" Bart closed the door behind them.

"I think that the General's little soldier has an arsenal outside for a reason", Oliver answered in a low voice, trying to make his way in the dark. "Probably even has her own private stash. Keep an ear out for a bomb."

They walked inside carefully before a female voice called out. "I knew someone would get past the guns eventually. Took you long enough."

A lamp was turned on, and he saw a brunette sitting down next to it.

Lucy Lane. And the look of shock that suddenly replaced the look of triumph that was on her face previously made it seem like she wasn't expecting them.

"You're not who I was expecting", she told them. "How did you get my message?"

Oliver kept a firm grip on the gun he was holding. "What message?"

There was a voice creeping from the back of his mind. Telling him that she was looking for the same person that everyone seemed to think was with him- Clark.

Just plain old Oliver wasn't enough to run around looking for Chloe.

"You don't seriously expect someone to magically pop back on the grid overnight, do you?" She asked

"What are you talking about?" Bart asked

"Seeing as how I'm the host of this little party", Lucy said, uncrossing her legs and standing up, "I'll be asking the questions around here. So why don't you start by telling me your names?"

"My name is Oliver Queen", he said. "And this is my friend Bart. Now, if you're Lucy Lane, and I hope you are, then I'm looking for your cousin, Chloe. She's gone missing."

"Do we know each other?" She asked

Don't these people watch the news? Read the tabloids? Oliver supposed that he should be thankful that they didn't, because then they couldn't judge him for his past. But not being able to throw around his name and have people still not recognize it was getting a bit tiring.

"No, but we're about to get real friendly", he said, still holding the gun. "Are you Lucy Lane?"

"Yes, but the message wasn't intended for you. What happened to farm boy? Lives in a Barn, wears flannel, friends with Lex Luthor, caught me stealing once? That guy?"

"Oh him?" Oliver let out a laugh in an attempt to cover up just how irritated he still was with Clark. "He couldn't make it. Any other questions, or is it my turn now?"

"Why don't you put that gun down before you hurt yourself?" She asked

He ignored her. "Good, so it _is_ my turn now. How about we just cut to the chase?" He walked up to her and held the gun in the direction of her heart. "Just one question. Where's Chloe?"

"I can't tell you."

She was lying to him, he could see it. There was a difference between can't and won't. And he didn't come this far to just go home and look for another lead. Not this time.

His hand was starting to shake with the fear that maybe she really didn't have a clue, and he could suddenly feel his heart pounding. He held his other hand to the gun, loading it, and holding it steady. "Where. Is. She."

"Oliver, shooting her isn't going to help." Bart told him

Maybe they could have played this game a month ago. Just maybe. But he didn't have time for this right now. He didn't even have time to call his pilot to fly out here- he came in a split second with Impulse to save time.

He needed to do something, torture her, choke the truth out of her, something. He needed to get over to Chloe and make her see some sort of reason, to tell her to stop the insane idea that she probably still had in her head that the world would be better off without her memory.

And that started right here with this woman, who was just smirking in front of him, like she held all of the answers but was just unwilling to give them up.

"We're running out of time for this." He grabbed her shoulder and threw her back onto the couch she was sitting on before. He pressed the gun against her temple and held it there before she could stand up again. "Tell me where she is!"

"If you kill me, you'll never be able to find her", she said slowly, looking straight ahead. "If you let me live, I might be able to say something that could help you."

"Or you're lying and you're not planning on telling me a single thing that could help me."

If he shot her in the arm, he could give her some motivation to tell the truth. But if he tortured someone, he wasn't sure if he could come back from it.

They were supposed to be the good guys. It took him a dramatic confrontation to be able to work past the last murder, and he still wasn't 100% yet. He couldn't afford to have that happen again.

He kept the gun steady with both arms, and it was still fixed on Lucy's temple when he felt something echo in his head.

_No offense to your manhood, but I filled your guns with blanks, just in case. _

He tilted his head to one side and then rolled it over to the other side, keeping an eye on Lucy and his heads steady.

He heard the voice echoing in his head again.

_I trust you, Oliver. Just…not that much._

He let out a frustrated cry as he fought through his own will to shoot the woman and withdrew the gun from Lucy's head, tossing it to the ground and hearing it slide away.

He could see Bart trembling and Lucy letting out a slow and shaky breath.

"What do you know?" He asked

She was silent for a moment. "Do you have family, Oliver?"

So it was going to be story-time. What kind of question was that? Why did that matter?

He wanted to tell her to read a paper once in a while, save him the trouble of revisiting old wounds, but instead, he gave her the short version. "Only child. Parents died when I was a kid."

"So that's a no."

"He has a family", Bart interrupted. "You don't need blood for that."

"So that's no for you too", she said, looking at Bart. "Blood is different. It's a different kind of loyalty, and that's why I can't tell you where she is."

He didn't want to think of what he would do the next time he sat down at the desk at Watchtower. He wouldn't have anything to search. There needed to be something, and she did say something about helping.

"Then that clue better be pretty damn good, don't you think?"

"She's safe, I can tell you that. And healthy. But I haven't gone to see her. I have no idea if she's happy or what she's doing with herself."

"We're not a threat to her", Bart said.

She didn't look at Bart, though. Her eyes were focused on Oliver. "You were there, weren't you?" she asked

"I've been a lot of places. You're going to have to be more specific."

"Chloe's wedding."

That day felt like a million years ago. "Yeah, I was there."

Her eyes drifted to the side. "I wanted to go. So badly. You see, I haven't seen my sister in years. They live together- they're a lot closer to each other than I am to either of them, but I still wanted to go."

"Trust me, it wasn't all promising eternity the entire time. There was a gate-crasher, in a matter of speaking. Ruined the whole day."

"I still would have liked to see it, to see them."

"Then why didn't you?" He asked

She shrugged. "Family."

"If you wanted to go so badly, Chloe's your family. She would have liked to see you there for the good parts."

"I…got myself into a good amount of trouble. Enough for the General to step in and put me in witness protection to keep me away from it all. He made me swear not to go to keep them safe."

"And the General?"

"He didn't go either. Wanted to make it easier on me."

It suddenly made sense to Oliver why Clark walked Chloe down the aisle and why Lois overcompensated as the wedding planner to make sure that everything was perfect. They all knew on some level that nobody else would be coming.

"I promised that I wouldn't get involved with Chloe now", Lucy went on. "But I knew that someone must have been looking for her back in Metropolis, and when I got her old address, I found a lot of activity there. I thought that it was Clark, so I gave him a hint, but you took it instead, and well, here we are."

What hint could she possibly have given him? He would have remembered if she had broken in and told him something, and there wasn't exactly any records of Lucy taking a plane ride to Metropolis and back here. "What was it?" He asked

"There's a chain that you've been following, Oliver, and I set down the first link. Don't you remember? It was Pete Ross."

Oliver froze at the mention of the name. He didn't find Pete himself, it was something that Watchtower picked up on while he was in Cuba.

"That was you?" He asked "You put him back on the radar?"

"I didn't think that anybody else other than Clark would be able to pick up on it. I have to admit, I'm a bit surprised that you did."

He knew it. He knew that if Lucy could take herself off of the radar, she could put Chloe back on. But it still didn't explain how everyone else was clueless.

"So they were all lying to me? All of them? Every time I asked where Chloe was? Because I've got to say, I didn't see that one coming. I'm pretty good at telling when someone's giving me bullshit."

She shook her head. "No, Pete doesn't know where she is. None of them do. I just knew that all of them would be able to set you on the path that I wanted you to take."

He could still those goddamn sirens sometimes, as he ran through a fish market. He could still feel his lungs burning. He could still see the faces of those children with guns in their hands as he drove into them.

"So you put me through all of this on purpose."

He wished that he had packed another gun.

"Through all what?"

"Oliver", Bart warned.

"I didn't manipulate you, Oliver. I just knew that they would do, how they would react. The General didn't flat out tell you where I was, did he?"

"The General", he echoed. "Your father. Dad, even. Only you can't call him that, can you? You follow orders and that's it."

He looked down for a second, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger before looking back at her. "So, what's the plan?" He asked her. "Got another necklace for us to track down or something?"

She shook her head. "No, now you leave. If you knew to keep an eye out for Pete Ross, the, hopefully you'll be able to figure out the next clue."

"This is ridiculous", Oliver let out, frustrated. "Why don't you just tell me where she is? You claim that we're on the same side, but we're running out of time, if it's not already gone."

"I can't do that", Lucy said, her tone even and unreadable.

"Yeah, why don't you cut the cryptic crap?" He asked. "Why would you risk everything to have me fail instead of helping me find her?"

"Because she can't betray family."

He looked over at where Bart was standing. All of his anger, and Oliver almost forgot that he was here. Forgot that he was supposed to be the controlled leader. Even tempered and professional.

"Face it, amigo", Bart said. "She's not going to tell us regardless of what we do. All we can do right now is work with what we've got."

That wasn't good enough. "This is Chloe's memory we're talking about! It's not some stupid game to play."

***Flash***

"_I'll admit I've lost a certain lust for life…but not for other things", he told Victoria._

"_Then play a game with me." She answered_

"_I'm all in."_

***End Flash***

"Is she orchestrating this?" He asked

She shook her head. "No. And even though I know where she is, I haven't visited her, because that would put me back on the radar with some people that are looking for me, and I don't want to bring her trouble."

"So…?"

"So I'm not telling you where she is because I have no idea if she's happy. Let's say that she is- that she's over the moon happy because her old life is over and she can start over without any complications or mysterious people telling her that the world is going to end. Let's say that she's happy just the way the she is and I lead you right to her. If you stop her then, what kind of person does that make me?"

"Let me get this straight", Oliver said, pacing back and forth for a second before standing still. "We have to figure out where she is, and other than guessing, your mouth is zipped shut. So what, do we only get three guesses?"

"Don't make me feel like a genie or anything. It's more of a riddle than three wishes. If you're right, I'll talk."

"More like a sphinx then", Oliver muttered. "This is stupid. We have to guess her exact location? Do you know how big the world is?"

"No, you have to figure out the next link in the chain. That's all I can help with."

"If we guess the next link, you'll give us the coordinates?" Bart asked

"I said I'll talk", she bit back in an irritated tone. "Never said how much, did I?"

"I hate this", Oliver said to Bart before turning back to Lucy.

He didn't like putting this much faith in a complete stranger. He didn't even trust a cleaning woman around the penthouse in case she came across his gear. He was supposed to trust the outcome of this whole thing to some woman who could be lying to him?

Oliver bent down to her level, putting his face very close to hers. "If I figure it out and you purposefully lead us in the wrong direction, I will kill you, understand?" He said in a low voice. "There isn't a single word that you can say to save you, no place that you'll be able to run to, no rock that Daddy dearest can shove you under, and my friend Bart over here? He won't even be able to stop me."

He turned away from the two of them and started walking back over to the front door. The view in front of him became darker and darker until he reached his hand over the doorknob, giving it a sharp tug, and stepping out into the light.


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter Forty-Two

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 92

He opened the double doors of the Watchtower stepped inside hesitantly, looking at every object as if it was completely foreign to him. There was something inside of this building that he was missing. A missing link.

Mia rushed into the room. "What happened? Did you find her? Did she help?"

"We found Lucy. She wasn't much of a help." Oliver said.

"Are you kidding me? So all of this has been for nothing?"

"Oh, it wasn't for nothing", Bart interrupted. "Turns out that she knows exactly where Chloe is- she just won't say anything."

"And you didn't kick her ass?" Mia asked Oliver

"Oh trust me, I wanted to. But I can't blame her. She says that we missed something, that she set this whole chain reaction for Clark to find her. Find the missing link, we find Chloe."

"We'll find it. I promise we will", Bart told him.

He felt like a bit of a wimp now that he was retelling the story. He should have done more than just threaten her. He should have beaten her until she told the truth- it's what would have been done to him if their roles had been reversed, he was sure of it.

He shouldn't have left there without an answer, but he had to take the glimmer of hope that she gave him. All he had to do was guess right and hopefully not waste time.

Except he couldn't think of what he was missing. If he guessed right and Lucy led him into a trap, Lois would be down a sister. Not that Lois was much of a factor in his life anymore anyway.

It felt like there was so much that he should have asked Lucy while he had here there, questions that were coming back to him the longer that he was back in the Watchtower. Was there a new time deadline? Did she know when in particular Chloe was going in to erase everything?

The plan was set up for Clark- it looked like the guy was supposed to be the only one who could figure out the puzzle. Too bad Clark wasn't much of a factor anymore. Chloe asked Oliver to look after the guy in a goodbye video and he hadn't done much of that.

It wasn't like Clark had done much looking out himself anyway. Oliver just wished that he had the years with Chloe that Clark did, that he had more than just files to go on.

He went into the room with the pictures and stood there. What could he possibly be missing here?

He looked at the map that had been covered in tacks with places that they had eliminated in looking for Chloe and Lucy. For a split second, he wondered if Clark knew about her plan all along, if he knew the location and that was why he had been so stubborn in not looking.

If Clark didn't know about the kryptonite weapons that had started this disaster in the first place, then there was no way that Chloe told him what she was planning.

Oliver was starting to ask himself why he bought Lucy's crap story about Chloe's happiness and betraying family. How could that be worth everything to her? He saw how Lex and Lionel used to go back and forth trying to destroy each other.

Vortigan was the closest thing that Oliver had to a father during his Brotherhood days, but it didn't stop him from going after important people in his life. It didn't stop Oliver from wanting to kill him for putting them in danger.

"Where do you think you should look?" Mia asked him

Nobody in the chain knew anything. Pete was clueless and so was Chloe's Dad.

"I don't know", he said. "I'm still convinced that I'm not missing anything and that Lucy's full of crap."

"Maybe she's not wrong", Mia said slowly. Oliver and Bart both rose an eyebrow. "Sorry, it's just that you've been so sleep-deprived for such a long time. Maybe there's something that you just glossed over."

"Well, whatever it is, I'm wishing that it would hit me in the face now. It's not like Lucy gave me a new time frame to work with. I can't exactly start from the beginning."

"It'll come to you, man." Bart told him.

What if it doesn't? What if it never did? What if he was just wasting his time and Lucy was just leading him on?

She said that there was a pattern, that Pete Ross' location started it off. He looked at the connecting locations, trying to come up with a design or a pathway on there, but there was nothing here.

They were people Smallville that she grew up with. Family members and friends. Wait a second. Designs.

The Kryptonite weapons. There were kryptonite knives. Chloe wasn't exactly a knife-thrower in her spare time. If they worked well, she would have needed help with them.

When she first met Dinah, Chloe said that she threw a knife at a closing elevator, and it nearly hit her right before the doors closed completely. If there was one thing that Oliver knew, it was designing weapons. It was the physics and weight of trick arrows and projecting how they would react.

It was a skill that he taught Mia and something that they all took pride in, honing their abilities. It was why Bart's shoes could stand the amount of friction that they did and why all of AC's technology was equipped to handle water during missions. They wouldn't be able to do their jobs if the tiny details were screwed up.

If Chloe trusted Dinah with the design of the kryptonite weapons, then she might know something.

"Bart, have you heard from Canary recently?" he asked

"No, man. I'm sorry, I haven't really heard from anyone since Roulette. We lost touch."

Dinah was the only one that he hadn't come across yet. He wondered if she was hiding on purpose.

But Canary wasn't really from Chloe's past. They both knew her the same amount of time and she more of a passing guest on Clark's radar instead of a teammate. Boyscout never did take the team seriously.

Whoever it was needed to be someone big in Clark and Chloe's life, but not so much on Oliver's.

Chloe was nice to everyone, from the barista she visited seven times a day to her superiors, so that didn't exactly help matters. Needed to be big with Clark in order for it to be blatantly obvious to him.

Seemed like the only thing that was important to Clark these days was playing house with Zod and getting into Lois' pants.

But it wasn't always Lois, was it?

***Flash***

"_Was it?" He asked her. "Because it seemed like a pretty natural instinct to protect Clark. Now that lex is gone, you can't tell me you're not relieved."_

"_Every fiber of my conscience wants to say that's not true, but…"_

"_Then, you can't tell Clark what I did. Lex just ripped the man's heart out, Chloe. He's going to need his friends around him right now more than ever."_

***End Flash***

He wished that he had access to someone who could just track down a person. To ask for a favor and hope that they wouldn't say no.

***Flash***

_He was in the middle of a meeting with the members of the board at the Star City office when his phone rang. He could have sworn that he put it on vibrate for the meeting, and apologized to everyone else in the room before looking at the screen. Incoming call from Chloe Sullivan. _

_Well, that was odd. He hadn't heard from her in a month or two. "I'm so sorry", he echoed his previous apology. "I need to take this."_

_He stepped outside of the room and answered the call. He didn't get the chance to greet her before she started talking. "Hey Oliver, it's me. I know it's been a while, but I really need to ask for a favor and I kind of don't have time for you to say no. Please don't be mad."_

"_Sure, what do you need?"_

"_Really?" She sounded surprised_

"_Well, you didn't really put me in a position to say no. So, what's going on?"_

"_Okay, so long story short, I found my mom in one of Lex's labs. Turns out that she has meteor abilities. Clark and I got her out, but we don't really have any place to take her that's safe."_

"_Do you remember the pass-code to get into the Clock Tower?" He asked. "I'll set up a secure area for her to stay- take her there in the meantime. I'll call my security team in Metropolis and make sure that they keep an extra eye on the place."_

"_I was hoping that you'd say that. She's already there with Clark. I'm picking up some sandwiches, figured a good lunch would help with the shock."_

_He smiled. "Of course they're already there. Well, don't worry about a thing. I'll get a secure place set up here in Star City near the rest of the team so worst case scenario we can keep an eye on her, but I have to call my pilot so we can get over to Kansas. We'll be there in a couple of hours. How are you doing with the whole 'Mom with meteor abilities' thing?"_

_She took a deep breath. "Still processing."_

"_I'll ask you again when I get here. Give you some more time. I've got to go."_

"_Thank you, Oliver."_

"_No problem. I'll see you when I get there."_

***End Flash***

Chloe's Mom wouldn't be able to give him Chloe's location because of the same crap excuse that Lucy gave him. Because betraying family is the worst thing. But he was going to try. All he needed was a personal item. Something that was important to Chloe and the last piece of the puzzle.

He searched around the Watchtower until he found the laptop that Lois didn't send him. The personalized laptop that Chloe loved. He tucked it under his arm and looked around for a Smallville High yearbook before tucking that under his arm too and calling his pilot.

"Where are you going?" Mia asked

"Star City", he answered.

"Dude, cancel the jet. I'll take you right now", Bart told him.

Oliver shook his head. "You can't, because I need you and Mia to do something for me while I'm gone."

"What do you need?" Bart asked

"I need you to try and go through Watchtower's database and find Dinah's location. I've bumped into everyone else in the team since this whole thing started, and I'm pretty sure that she helped Chloe design the kryptonite weapons in the first place. I have no idea if she knows where Chloe is, but we can't leave any stones unturned. She had to track you all down for Roulette, and I bet that she didn't stop tracking you guys after you left. And Mia, you need to get back to school. It's noon on a Tuesday."

"What are you doing in Star City?" Mia asked, ignoring the part about school.

"It's one of the two", he said, dialing Lucy's number. "It has to be, it's all that's left. I just need Lucy to confirm and we'll be good to go."

"Who is it?" Mia asked. "Other than Dinah?"

Lucy picked up the phone as Oliver answered.

"Lana Lang."


	43. Chapter 43

A/N: From the looks of my inbox with the petty messages and hate, you guys have finally caught on to the idea that Oliver is supposed to lose his sense of morality. That he's supposed to be so desperate to find Chloe that he's willing to do anything for a straight answer. The general consensus is that I'm a shitty writer, and I get that. It's fine, and maybe I even agree with you if it's taken 42 chapters in a 50 chapter story for that to come through. If it's so bad, you don't need to read it. You can go somewhere else.

Here's something to keep in mind, though. This isn't a Chlark story, and since Clark is not in this story, it's not fair to take what I'm making Oliver do in a story with no official Smallville or DC writer to approve it and compare it to the actual Smallville or DC written character of Clark Kent. If you're going to do that, compare Smallville or DC Clark Kent to Smallville or DC Oliver Queen, because since I'm not a professional, it's not a fair fight to the Oliver Queen that I'm putting through hell.

If you don't like it, don't read it. Because whether you like or hate this story or any of my other stories, they're all getting finished.

Chapter Forty-Three

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 93

He opened the door, half hoping that this would work and half calling himself an idiot for not thinking about this a long time ago. The scientists gave her a small dose- long enough to get some answers but short enough so that when she slipped back into her comatose state, the amount of time wouldn't be exponentially longer.

They were close to perfecting the serum that Lex gave Moira Sullivan years ago, a process that was slower than they expected because Oliver made sure that she wasn't a specimen. The scientists understood how important it was that she was comfortable and that it wasn't a constant process of testing different medications only to lose her again, especially when he learned a month in that the more often people tested her, the longer the coma would be.

Lex had done enough damage to Chloe's mom- to the degree that they weren't sure if they could get her out of the coma permanently. But they were still trying, more because Oliver kept funding the project.

Lucy was no help on the phone, just agreed that it was one of the two, but not who it was. So Mia and Bart were trying to track down Dinah while he was here, trying to see if he could get any headway on Lana Lang. Hopefully Chloe's old yearbook would be able to help. Granted, he still wanted to see if Mrs. Sullivan could get anywhere with Chloe's laptop to skip any extra steps.

He held out the laptop as she opened her eyes. "Mrs. Sullivan, my name is Oliver Queen", he began softly. "I need your help in finding you daughter, Chloe."

She shook her head and turned away from him. "I won't do it."

"We're friends", he told her. "She asked me to keep you safe after she got you out of Lex's facility. She left town and I just want to make sure that she's safe."

She shook her head. "I can help you find anybody. Just not my daughter. Please."

She looked at him like he was Lex. Like he was the bad guy, but he wasn't. How could he explain? "I'm not one of the bad guys. I promise."

"They all say that", she whispered. "If Chloe ran, there has to be a reason for it. She doesn't want to be found."

"I made a mistake", he said, kneeling down to her level and putting a hand on one of the arms on her chair. "Chloe- she was trying to protect a lot of people, and she went to some extremes to do it. I shouldn't have called her out on it, but I did. She left because of me, and I need to fix it. This is the only thing that I could think of. I've been searching for months, and I can't think of anything else."

She looked at him. "You seem like a nice man, but I'm sorry. I can't help you."

He rested the laptop on the floor and pulled out the yearbook, flipping through the pages until he found Lana Lang. "Can you help me find her?" He asked, pointing to the picture.

She stared at the picture and held the book in her hands. Her hands glowed green and she closed her eyes, focusing.

It was quiet in the room for a minute before her hands stopped glowing and her eyes opened again. "This doesn't belong to this woman."

"No, but she has a yearbook just like this one."

Moira closed the book. "I'm afraid it doesn't work that way. I can find Ms." She looked at the name. "Lang, but I need something personal of hers in order to do it."

"If I come back with something of hers, will you tell me where she is?"

"Something that she connects with that has meaning."

She dropped the yearbook on the floor, and Oliver picked it up. "I'm not sure how to do that." He looked back up at her, but she was gone. Her eyes had glossed over and her body was still. 

"Mrs. Sullivan?"

There was no response, and there was no use in waking her up if he didn't have something that she could work with.

He remembered how shocked Chloe was when he found her at the Clock Tower years ago, how difficult it was for her to see her mother being taken away. He walked up to one of the head scientists. "It's been years since we started this project and it doesn't look like it's getting any better."

"Mr. Queen, the fact that we were able to wake her up from such a deep coma for this long is a drastic improvement."

"But it's not permanent." Oliver told him.

"Not yet, but we're getting there."

"I know you are", he started. "But she has a daughter who probably doesn't visit much because it's hard to watch her come back just to have her leave again. I need this to speed up. If it's more funding you need, I'll provide it."

"Mr. Queen, I understand the urgency, but this process- if it's rushed, we might not be able to wake her up. We can't just give her the first experimental drug that we develop. Mrs. Sullivan's daughter would most likely prefer her mother to be alive."

Oliver nodded. "Send me daily updates. I'll be back soon."

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 94

He flew back to Metropolis and gave Mia a call in the car. There was no news on Dinah's location, and he told them to keep looking while he tried to figure out how he could get something that was Lana's that she still had meaning to without wasting trips.

He didn't really know Lana too personally- he just knew the stories that he heard over the years and some information that he dug up on Chloe that had mentioned Lana.

Oliver knew that Lana restored the Talon, but he wasn't sure if anything would help that belonged to the coffee shop. He knew that for some reason, she married Lex and then divorced him, but he doubted that there was anything in the mansion that she would still have a personal connection with.

He remembered reading an article about Lana's childhood during the meteor shower in one of Chloe's old binders. There was some sort of memento that he saw once, but he couldn't remember what it was.

He took out his phone and accessed the Torch's database, trying to find the story, but he found the link to the front page of Time magazine instead. Lana was crying in a fairy princess costume and it was reported that her parents were hit by a meteor that killed them instantly.

She made something out of the meteor that killed them.

***Flash***

_He knocked on the door to the Talon and she opened it. "Lois isn't here, come in."_

"_It's encrypted", he said, waving the CD case in the air. _

"_I know. I encrypted it." She closed the door behind him._

"_Victor's out of town on a mission."_

"_I know."_

"_Don't get me wrong, I'm glad the intel is secure in case something bad happened, but wouldn't it be good if you let me in on the secret too?"_

_She shrugged. "Call it job insurance." She put the CD in her laptop's drive and started typing. "This could take a while. Help yourself to some food. There's Chinese in the fridge."_

_He looked over at the fridge and nodded. "I'm good." He looked around the room and spotted a tin container. "What's that?" He asked. "Does Lois collect baseball cards now?"_

"_No, that's mine", she said, typing._

"_You collect baseball cards?"_

"_One of the Isis kids gave it to me."_

_He gave her an amused look. "You're a horrible liar."_

"_Haven't told anyone you killed Lex yet, have I? Must not be that bad."_

_The combination of running his company, dealing with the merger, and missions helped him to forget what he did most days. Hearing her say it so casually reminded him of the guilt. _

"_I'm sorry", she said. "That wasn't fair. There's just been a lot going on in my head recently. I'm sorry."_

"_It's okay", he said quietly. "I deserve it."_

_She stopped typing. "No, it's not." She walked over to the tin and picked it up, opening it up and showing a necklace. "Lana left this behind with me because it was too painful to take it with her. Too many memories of Clark. I've kind of been holding onto it in case she surprises us all and shows up in town again. It used to be part of a meteor that killed her parents."_

***End Flash***

He was originally heading over to the Watchtower to try to find something, but if that little baseball card tin was still there, he hit the gold. He took a couple of turns to leave the city and started the ridiculous commute towards Smallville.

When he reached the Talon, he asked the barista at the counter if Lois was in the apartment. The guy said that he had no idea, he just started his shift. Oliver thanked him and went up the stairs anyway.

He knocked on the door a couple of times before taking out the lock-pick that he always carried around with him.

_You could always try the handle._

He gave the handle a go and found that it was locked, like most apartment doors in the world were when people weren't around. He started to pick the lock and opened the door before stepping inside.

It still looked pretty messy in here. The last time he was in here for longer than a couple of minutes, he ruined everything, and it still wasn't fixed yet, but hopefully that could change.

***Flash***

"_Nice storm trooper costume", he remarked, picking up the helmet. "I've got to say, when I said that I'd let you design your own outfit to go out into the field, this isn't what I had in mind."_

"_Cute", she said, taking the helmet from him. "That's Lois', not mine. She's got to cover the comic book convention tonight for the Planet."_

"_Oh, I know. Just making conversation before I have to head out and track down a potential crazy person. Last words and all", he said dramatically._

"_And you waste it on Star Wars conversation? I'm disappointed, but it'll have to do. You're all reconfigured." She tossed him the earpiece. "Now get out of here before Lois gets home."_

_Well, that was fast. He caught the earpiece. "Really? I owe you one."_

"_Oh good, I'll keep it in my log book with the other favors so I can cash them all in for something cool later."_

"_Maybe a balcony so I don't look suicidal jumping out the window. I'll keep you updated on the havoc in Metropolis."_

_He turned towards the setting sun for a split second and shot out a zip-line and waved goodbye to her before jumping out. He could have sworn that she looked like she wanted to tell him something._

***End Flash***

He started tearing the place apart looking for Lana's necklace, since it wasn't out in the open like when he first saw it. He searched drawers of clothing, he looked in the closet, he looked in the kitchen, hell he even looked in the fridge.

He looked under both of the beds and was looking at the shelves when he heard his name.

He turned around and saw Lois standing there with a can of mace before she put it down. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Long story", he said, still searching. He found a small light and started looking inside of the vases that were decorating the shelves.

"Oliver, stop." He did. "Turn around." He did. "I haven't seen or spoken to you in months. You don't call to keep me updated and you disappear and now you're here and looking through my things. And you look awful. So you're going to have to explain something to me or I'm going to have to report a break in."

"I really don't have time to catch up, Lois. I'm doing the same thing that I've been doing. I'm looking for Chloe. And I'm looking for something here that's going to help me find her."

He turned back to the vases and kept looking around.

"When was the last time you slept?"

God, not this question again. Oliver, when was the last time you slept? When was the last time you ate something?

He kept searching. "Does it matter? Geez, how many vases do you guys need?"

"They're decorative", she said. "We've had a lot of crazy psycho killers over the years. They always come with flowers in vases. It's supposed to be funny."

"It's creepy", he said, looking inside of one vase that looked like it had something inside of it. Something that was reflecting the light.

He grabbed the vase. "What's this one?"

"Some guy from high school who hit on Chloe."

Chloe put Lana's necklace in this one. It was probably the guy who could clone himself and dated both of them at the same time. Interesting placement. Oliver was just glad that the necklace was still here, that Chloe didn't take it with her.

"Any sentimental value?"

"No."

"Good", Oliver dropped it on the floor and picked up the necklace that he found. It looked like the same necklace. "See you around, Lois."

"And you're not even going to clean up the mess?"

"No time, I'm sorry." He took out his cell phone and called his pilot again, telling him to fuel up for another trip to Star City.

Good thing the guy is well paid.

"Oliver, what the hell happened to you? Where is my cousin? Is she okay?"

"She's safe", he told Lois. "And I'm about to find out where she is."

"With the power of jewelry?"

"It's complicated, but this thing's going to lead me to her. It's the next link in the chain."

"The chain of what?" Lois asked "You're sounding really strange. Are you drinking again? You sound weird, but you don't sound like an ass."

"No, I haven't been drinking."

"Your shareholders are trying to remove you from being CEO. Put the president of Rao Industries in there instead."

He didn't know that. "It doesn't matter", he lied.

"How does your father's company not matter to you?"

"You asked me to do this", he told her. "You asked me to find Chloe and that's what I'm doing."

"No, I didn't. You came in here and told me that you were going to find her. I said that I'd get the Blur to help and you wouldn't let me. And you wouldn't let me help you."

"The Blur doesn't care." Oliver told her. "I tried to get him to help but he wouldn't listen to me. He said that she was better off away from Metropolis."

"Maybe he's right. You said that she's safe, right? That's all that really matters, that she's okay."

"Like I said, it's complicated and there's no time."

"This isn't you, Oliver", Lois told him. "You've always had boundaries, you don't just go break into apartments like this just because you can."

"I've stopped burglaries by breaking into bank vaults and museums. It saved people then from a lot of pain, and I broke in to save Chloe."

"You could have called first, and I would have let you in", Lois said. "You didn't have to break in!"

"I'm sorry about that, and for the mess."

"I'm worried about you", Lois said, blocking the door. "if you've relapsed, it's okay. I'll go to meetings with you, we can get you help."

He wasn't an alcoholic. Not anymore. "I haven't had a drink since my birthday. I'll be fine once I find her, I promise. But you have to let me go and find her."

"I'm drug testing you the next time that I see you", Lois said before she stepped away from the threshold.

"Can't wait."

"Oliver", she called out. He turned around before at the top of the staircase. "When you finally figure everything out, just know that it's okay with me."

"Sure, whatever", he said, going down the stairs.

"Try calling next time."

Days without Chloe Sullivan: 95

Moira Sullivan woke up with Oliver Queen at her side. "Mr. Queen, did you bring something to help me find your friend?"

"Yes", he said, holding out the necklace. "Can you get anything from this?"

She took the necklace in her hands and it glowed green. She was silent, in a trance for a moment, before her eyes opened. "Pen and paper", she whispered. Oliver held it out for her as she wrote out coordinates and handed it to him.

"Thank you", he breathed. "I swear to you, I'll make sure that they can heal you. I'm going to make sure that I bring you and your family back together again."

She smiled widely before her eyes clouded over once more.


End file.
